How to prepare for Techmageddon.

• Author: Bradley, Crista
• Position: Technology Disaster Response ad Recovery Planning: A LITA Guide - Book review

Technology Disaster Response ad Recovery Planning: A LITA Guide

Editor: Mary Mallery

Publisher: American Library Association

Publication Date: 2015

Length: 120 pages

Price: $59

ISBN: 978-0-8389-1315-4

Source: www.ala.org

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While no one in the information professions can dispute the value and significance of disaster planning, this important activity often ends up getting put on a back burner in a work-day of competing priorities and limited budgets. Technology Disaster Response and Recovery Planning serves as a poignant reminder of why the development and regular refreshing of disaster plans need to be incorporated into an organization's regular cycle of work.

The compact guide from the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) features seven well-considered articles in chapter form that can serve as a useful launch pad for professionals ready to engage in the process of creating or updating their organization's technology disaster plan.

Mallery has assembled a significant amount of information in a slim volume. The book is divided into two parts that, in total, contain seven stand-alone chapters. This arrangement helps make the book a very accessible read.

Creating the Plan

The five chapters in part one, "Creating the Technology Disaster Response and Recovery Plan," expose readers to a range of issues.

Chapter one is Mallery's own, entitled "What Could Go Wrong? Libraries, Technology, and Murphy's Law." It serves to frame the discussion that unfolds in the chapters that follow.

Chapter two, "Inventory and Risk Assessment for Digital Collections" (Liz Bishoff and Thomas F.R. Clareson) encourages readers to take full stock of their assets and risks at the outset of the planning process.

This is followed by "Disaster Planning and Risk Management with dPlan" (Donia Conn), which provides an overview of an online disaster planning tool developed by the Northeast Document Conservation Centre and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners to streamline and support disaster planning.

Next comes chapter four, "Disaster Communication: Planning and Executing a Response" (Denise O'Shea), which prompts those engaged in disaster planning to give careful consideration to the importance of communication in a crisis situation.

The final chapter of part one is also the meatiest, "Future Trends: Cloud Computing and Disaster Mitigation" (Marshall Breeding). It briefly surveys some of the types of library products...