The audience for this book is libraries, archives, historical societies, museums and other cultural institutions. Kahn is a frequent consultant and lecturer on disaster planning and related issues. She notes a growing awareness of all kinds and sizes of disasters since the first edition of her book. Even since the second edition (2003) she mentions disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and earthquakes in Haiti and Chile. Other types of international events, both natural and man-made disasters, are not mentioned specifically, but they have an impact on libraries and cultural institutions. Kahn maintains her planning process can be adapted to all types of potential disasters. A discussion of the unique aspects of some specific types of disasters would have strengthened the book. The need for a plan that covers physical and virtual collections, services, administration, cash flow, and people has as its foundation the efficient restoration of services. Recovery and backup are major points included in the discussion.
An appendix of checklists and forms is valuable in getting organized to create a local plan. A second appendix, including information on associations, organizations and companies that provide information, assistance, preservation services, and supplies of special recovery products, is an essential tool in the planning process. The resources listed are exclusively US and Canadian, despite Kahn's nod to the increasingly internationalization of disaster planning and recovery awareness.
The book concludes with a lengthy bibliography. Sadly, the entries do not reflect Kahn's assertion that there have been recent new concerns and developments around the topic of disaster planning. The entries in the bibliography are as dated as the 1980s, with the majority of entries coming from publications in the early to mid-1990s. Comparing the bibliography in the third edition to the one in the second edition finds most entries are repeated, with a few deleted and another few added.
Another comparison with the second edition finds that section and subsection headings, and even much of the text, is practically word-for-word repeated in the third edition. The second edition included five “cases” at the end of some sections. They are eliminated in the newer edition. Updated cases would have helped illustrate the practical application of the advice and processes recommended in the text.
The advice, checklists, examples, and options for additional reading and research included in the third edition are valuable. If your collection includes the second edition, it is not essential to purchase the third edition. If you do not have the earlier edition, by all means buy the 2012 edition, but vow to use it to start the planning process immediately, and to update it at least annually.
