For Immediate Release
January 6, 2021
Juneau – The Division of Libraries, Archives, and Museums is recruiting participants for a professional development program that will build the capacity of collecting institutions in Alaska to prepare for and respond to emergencies. The Preparing Alaska’s Cultural Organizations for Emergencies (PACO) program is open to participants from libraries, archives, museums, cultural centers, and other institutions with original humanities materials. The application deadline for the first cohort is February 8.
“Alaska cultural organizations care for valuable collections that require special care and consideration to prevent damage before and during an emergency. The PACO program will help institutions prevent, prepare for, and respond to emergencies for the safety and security of visitors, buildings, and collections,” says Anjuli Grantham, Curator of Statewide Services at the Alaska State Museum.
Over the next year, three cohorts of participants will enroll in an online course about emergency preparedness, draft or update institutional emergency preparedness and disaster response plans, be paired with a coach who will provide support and resources to further enhance the preparedness of participating institutions, and take part in a three-day workshop on collections salvage.
The collections salvage workshops will take place at fire training centers across the state. “Within the fireproof rooms we will set up what looks like a collections storage room. Firefighters will then set it on fire and fight the fire. Participants will then conduct damage assessments, plan their response, and learn how to properly handle and salvage materials that have been damaged by fire and water,” explains Grantham.
The PACO program is a partnership among the Division of Libraries, Archives, and Museums, the Office of History and Archaeology, the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and cultural institutions across the state. The program is free of charge for participants thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
“In Alaska, it’s not a question of if there will be a disaster, but when there will be a disaster. PACO helps assure that the history of Alaska is safe, even in the face of disaster,” Grantham notes.
To learn more about the PACO program, please visit lam.alaska.gov/pacoinfo.
Media Contact:
Patience Frederiksen
Director
907.465.2911
patience.frederiksen@alaska.gov
lam.alaska.gov
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