Developing statewide emergency and disaster preparedness expertise

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has developed an emergency r esponse training program, which is divided into five sections: orientation, drill, tabletop, functional, and full-scale. Each section provides skills that are expanded through subsequent exercises. Suggestions are given for i mplementing the FEMA training model to the needs of cultural institutions. The Missouri Local Records Preservation Program's archivists were trained i n emergency preparedness and response methods for books, papers, photograph s, and electronic media by adapting FEMA's model. This article concludes wi th resources for developing similar training programs.