PRESENTATION
Presentation Title:
Faster disasters: collaborating to build community resilience
Presenter:
Dr Heather Brown, Jo Cooper
Date:
Thursday 14 May 2026 | 11:00am – 11:30am
Presentation Description:
Why
Across Australia, libraries hold unique and significant physical and digital collections that are core to our cultural identity. All the vital work that libraries do to provide access to these collections, digitise, engage users and care for the collections over time can be destroyed in an instant during a disaster.
Disasters in Australia are occurring more frequently, and escalating faster than anytime in our history, while emerging threats like cyber attacks are also increasing in in speed and complexity.
How
This section covers the collaborative approach – partnering with SAFECOM, Libraries SA, Artlab Australia and ALIA to deliver training to staff from selected SA rural and public libraries that have unique heritage collections. The presentation showcases examples of the practical training that emphasised the strategic importance of prevention and preparation. It highlights how the groups identified underlying disaster risks and ways they could be mitigated. Further examples of the training activities, scenarios and resources illustrate the steps towards developing an integrated disaster plan for digital and physical collections. These include identifying salvage priorities, embedding disaster management within the organisation, as well as response and recovery.
Outcome
This section highlights the practical outcomes of the training together with the feedback and suggestions for the future.
Dr Heather Brown
Education and Sector Standards Librarian
Presenter Bio
Dr Heather Brown is the Education and Sector Standards Librarian at ALIA, and she has a long-standing interest in collections disaster management. Her research interests lie in an integrated approach to disaster management of physical and digital collections. Heather has co-authored the ALIA disaster management resources and UNESCO’s Disaster Risk Management Training Toolkit. In her ALIA role she has recently collaborated with Libraries SA, Artlab Australia and the SA Fire and Emergency Services Commission (SAFECOM) to co-deliver disaster training programs to the staff of local community libraries to build their disaster resilience.
Jo Cooper
Program Manager, State Library of SA
Presenter Bio
Jo Cooper is the Program Manager – at the State Library of South Australia (SLSA), with over 25 years of experience spanning both public and state library sectors. She brings a strong track record in leading complex projects that drive innovation and improve library services.
Jo’s expertise includes strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, risk assessment, and evaluation. Passionate about collaboration, Jo actively seeks meaningful partnerships to enhance library offerings, with a particular interest in heritage collections and their role in connecting communities to history and culture.