NU Library in Zagreb pioneering systematic resilience to disasters
National and University Library in Zagreb (NU) has successfully completed the second phase of its disaster risk management project aimed at creating comprehensive awareness of common and rare risks and systematically protecting its collections from damages and losses.
In this second phase of the project, which followed the comprehensive disaster risk assessment for its collections conducted in 2017/2018, the NU Library in 2019 established an internal comprehensive risk management system, that detects, monitors and acts upon the spectrum of risks in both regular and extraordinary circumstances.
The system aims at continually assessing and developing its emergency response capacities, advancing the dynamics of response and recovery, and producing adequate prevention measures in line with the sectoral and European standards, legislation and best practices, as well as respective ISO standards.
One of the activities of the project was conducting the initial risk management training for over 160 of the Library staff aimed at advancing the Library capacity to build and develop the preventive protection system for its collections, and launch effective response and recovery in emergencies.
The project was conducted parallel to other preparations of the NU Library in Zagreb for hosting the Croatian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, taking place in its premises in the first half of 2020.
As a segment of the project, the NU Library organized the Seminar on the protection of the cultural heritage in November 2019, gathering the professionals and stakeholders from both the heritage institutions and civil protection sector to exchange, network, and build intra- and inter-sectoral cooperation and solidarity.
The project was spearheaded and managed by Ms. Dragica Krsti?, Head of the Preservation and Storage Department at the NU Library in Zagreb, and was supported by external consultant-specialist Mr. Sa?a Tkalec, head of the Cultural Innovation Center (InK).
After the completion of the project, the NU Library continues to systematically work on building its capacities and resilience thought the established system. One of the following activities will include a field emergency exercise to be conducted jointly by the Library and emergency sectors in Zagreb, tentatively announced for the second half of 2020.
The Library also published the first call for its international conference Solidarity in Culture, announced for March 2020. The conference aims to bring together professionals from both the heritage and emergency sectors.
The aim of the conference is to facilitate further intra- and inter-sectoral cooperation, solidarity, and development of the systems which protect valuable collections and cultural heritage.