Free Volume: Collections Impacts from 2011 Earthquake in Washington DC.

[Dan Chure <danchure@easilink.com>]

This new book might interest some of you, regarding emergency planning 
for collections. It is a free download from the URL below.

 Some data on earthquake damage to fossil collections.

Unexpected—Earthquake 2011: Lessons to Be Learned.

Smithsonian Contributions to Museum Conservation, number 4, viii + 105 
pages, 86 figures, 3 tables, 2014.

Charola, A. Elena, Corine Wegener, and Robert J. Koestler, editors.

 This volume brings together nine reports and six short communications 
that describe damage and other problems caused for the Smithsonian 
Institution by the earthquake that occurred in the Washington, D.C., 
area on 23 August 2011. The first chapter is a summary of the 
presentation by Secretary G. Wayne Clough to the Smithsonian community 
nearly a month after the event, and the second gives an overview of the 
impact that the earthquake had on buildings and collections. The third 
chapter describes in detail both damages to and post-seismic 
stabilization of the Hempstead House, listed as a historic site on 
Smithsonian property in Maryland. The fourth chapter describes some of 
the damage to and subsequent conservation of fossils in the National 
Museum of Natural History; the next two chapters describe damages 
suffered by the Botany–Horticulture Library and the fluid collection 
located in this same building. The short communications report whether 
damage was suffered in six other Smithsonian museums. Chapter eight 
deals with the Smithsonian’s Museum Support Center, describing damage 
suffered by collections in the pods of this center as well as the 
structure overall and, in particular, its roof, in which many previously 
undiscovered leaks were subsequently exposed (over offices and 
laboratories) by Hurricane Irene. The final chapter brings together 
recommendations for measures to be implemented based on the experience 
gained. An epilogue on the need for preparedness for unexpected 
emergencies and a bibliography close the volume.

Download it from http://opensi.si.edu/index.php/smithsonian/catalog/book/47