Fire + water + bombs: Disaster management among academic libraries in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, Philippines

Abstract

The academic libraries in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, Philippines are vulnerable to disasters. In the last ten years, the majority of the 13 respondent libraries have sustained at least one disaster that may have been caused by civil unrest, war or terrorism, flood, earthquake, or fire. The majority were unprepared to face such disasters, may it be small-scale or catastrophic, and only one library has a disaster management plan. The lack of significant holdings of rare books, shortage of financial resources, no perceived risk, and the unavailability of staff to write a disaster management plan, are the reasons why most libraries do not have a plan. Moreover, the majority lacked staff that has undergone training in disaster preparedness and management. On the other hand, all of the libraries have disaster management practices that although not enough, will still enable them to lessen the effects of the disaster and save their library and parts of their collection when necessary. The respondents identified management support as an essential factor in their success in disaster management. The results of the study provide valuable information on the current state of the libraries in the Philippines with regards to disaster preparedness and management. Therefore, it is an essential addition to the literature on disaster management in the Philippines, which is very scarce as of the moment.