Preparing for the unthinkable: A systematic look at disaster preparedness in libraries

Disasters pose a significant threat to libraries, endangering human safety and library assets. These events, ranging from fires and floods to theft, can disrupt library services and potentially result in closure. It is essential to recognize that disasters have the potential to disorganize libraries and hinder their ability to provide services. The core objective of the study is to investigate various types of disasters, their effects, and the best practices of different kinds of libraries, along with the available resources for disaster risk reduction and patterns in the existing disaster management literature. Additionally, this study aims to examine the measures taken by library authorities to mitigate the impact of disasters and to identify any lessons learned from these experiences. The present systematic review article employed the Initialisation, Conceptualisation, and Actualisation (ICA)-framework to conduct the investigation, utilizing two widely recognized academic databases, Web of Science and Scopus. The study used relevant keywords about disaster management, resulting in the retrieval of 662 documents. After applying search filters, 152 articles were deemed suitable for an in-depth literature review. The preliminary analysis reveals that the majority of the articles have recounted the disaster experience of libraries situated in the United States of America. Additionally, it was found that the year 2016 had the highest number of publications. The periodical “Public Library Quarterly” has been identified as the leading journal with the highest reported publication frequency. The findings indicate that 111 studies utilized the qualitative methodology, and the remaining articles employed quantitative (22) and mixed methods (19) approaches, respectively. Moreover, the thematic analysis reflected six distinct research categories/themes by thoroughly examining the journal articles, identifying critical concerns and overlooking library drawbacks. To mitigate these premature losses, it is imperative to undertake essential measures, such as revising the LIS syllabus to encompass disaster management studies and enforcing a disaster management ‘policy-in-practice’ in all libraries.