Workplace Preparedness & Response Advisory Council (PREP)

The Workplace Preparedness & Response Advisory Council (PREP) consists of seven members appointed for overlapping terms of two years each. The Advisory Council shall:

• identify and promote ways in which information professionals can use their skills, competencies, and resources to help organizations, governments, and individuals prepare for and respond to workplace disruptions, including natural disasters and other emergencies;
• develop alliances between SLA and other library and information organizations to make the best use of the knowledge and skills of the international community of information professionals;
• provide resources to support information professionals in developing plans for preparing, responding to, and recovering from emergencies or disruptions in their organizations; and
• promote and highlight the importance of workplace preparedness and response by presenting and sharing resources and other learning opportunities (webinars, articles, education sessions, etc.).

Charge last revised March 2019 (Board Document EM0319-A06).

Recent PREP Activities and Initiatives
On Nov. 7, 2019, PREP hosted a webinar presented by Tim Scarrott of Imperator Consulting titled “Personal Safety and Awareness for Librarians.”

• View the webinar recording (You will be asked to register prior to viewing the recording)
• View the slides

At the SLA 2018 Annual Conference in Baltimore, PREP hosted a session titled “In the Eye of the Storm: Librarians Share Their Emergency Lessons.” The session featured five speakers:

• Doris Small Helfer, California State University Northridge: Active Shooters and How to Deal with It In Your Library
• Lisa Martin, University of Houston: Hurricane Harvey—A Mighty Storm
• Emma Moore, Institute for Advanced Study: Water Damage at the Metropolitan College of New York Library
• Erica L. Taylor, U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center: Mold at the U.S. Army War College Library
• Dan Wilson, University of Virginia: Switching Roles to Meet a Need—From Library to Family Assistance Center in Under 15 Minutes

Emergency Preparedness Resources

• SLA Resource Guide: Emergency Planning and Recovery