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Safeguarding a Nation's Identity
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This report, published in February 2007, was addressed to the President, Congress, Governors, and State Legislatures of the United States. It focuses on the readiness of state archives to protect records that identify who we are, secure our rights, and tell our story as a nation. Download the full report (PDF) Download the Executive Summary (PDF) |
When hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the Gulf Coast in August and September 2005, the archival community, like many others, found that its disaster planning was inadequate to meet the challenge. In response, the Council of State Archivists (CoSA), representing all the state archives agencies in the Nation, working with the National Archives and Records Administration and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, developed and implemented a “Framework for Emergency Preparedness” for public and historical records in every state.
A key component of the Framework was a 38-page assessment questionnaire, the first of its kind in the nation and the first preparedness tool to be deployed consistently in all fifty states. All fifty states completed the assessments which helped them gauge current preparedness strengths and weaknesses. CoSA then used the results of those assessments to prepare this nationwide report.
Among our findings:
- the importance of identifying and protecting records essential to continuity of governments as part of the emergency planning process is not recognized by many;
- few state archives and records programs have involvement in revisions to their state emergency operations plans;
- citizens and their governments are vulnerable to major disruptions that could result from the loss of records in the event of widespread disaster;
- state and local governments need access to substantially more training about records-related preparedness and recovery than is currently available.
Because of the assessment process, state archives across the nation are better prepared today than at any time in the past and have a roadmap to direct ongoing efforts at improving records-related preparedness nationwide.
CoSA continues its efforts to safeguard our vital documentary heritage at every level of government as well as by individual citizens through the Intergovernmental Preparedness for Essential Records (IPER) project, promotion of the Pocket Response Plan (PReP), publications like Rescuing Family Records and Rescuing Business Records, and collaborative work with other organizations and government agencies.
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