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This chapter introduces Building Back Better Libraries (BBBL) as a critical concept for improved library planning both prior to and following a disaster or other emergency. Building Back Better, an idea widely discussed in the disaster recovery literature, seeks to use the difficulty of a disaster as an opportunity to go beyond the status quo and to promote changes that result in stronger, more resilient communities. The authors will define BBB elements and frameworks, building upon those to create a model for library disaster planning and recovery, and applying it to cases involving space and facilities, collections, services, and people.

Literature on the Building Back Better concept and frameworks, as well as library emergency response, was reviewed. This source material was used to develop a modified framework for improved library disaster planning and recovery. The Building Back Better Libraries framework is discussed and applied to cases involving library facilities and spaces, collections, and services, and its implementation through a disaster planning team is reviewed.

Though all libraries hope to avoid disaster, few succeed. One survey found that as many as 75% of academic library respondents had experienced a disaster or emergency. Evidence also suggests that few libraries are prepared, with as many as 66–80% of libraries reporting that they have no emergency plan with staff trained to carry it out. Even when plans are in place, the rush to respond to immediate needs following a disaster can overwhelm the ability to pursue effective long-term planning. Building Back Better, when framed for libraries, provides a planning tool to balance short-term response with long-term recovery and resilience. The Building Back Better Libraries framework focuses on the areas of risk assessment for library collections and spaces; recovery and rejuvenation for facilities, collections, and services; and implementation and monitoring, with particular discussion of the human element and the role of a library disaster planning team.

The proposed framework, Building Back Better Libraries (BBBL), can be used to strengthen disaster planning in a manner that balances meeting immediate needs with implementing longer term plans to create stronger and more resilient libraries.

Although aspects of BBB ideas are present in existing library literature, the concept is not formally defined for the library context.

There is a noticeable confusion in the literature between Business Continuity Planning (BCP) and Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP). The two expressions are very often used interchangeably especially when it comes to their application. In this paper, the differences between business continuity and disaster recovery are discussed. The disaster management cycle is also addressed in order to highlight the importance of having plans before, during and after the occurrence of an incident.

A review of the extant literature on business continuity and disaster recovery was made. A number of different views were then presented in order to provide a better understanding of the two concepts and their potential overlap/connection. The literature review was conducted in 2020 using a variety of academic resources ranging from journal articles to text books and credible Internet websites. Relevant journal articles were obtained from two primary databases: Emerald Insight and EBSCOhost. Keywords, such as DRP, continuity, disruption and BCP, were mainly used to facilitate the search for these resources and other related material.

Reviewing the literature revealed that BCP and DRP are not the same. Yet, they are used interchangeably very often in the literature. This indicates a possible relationship/overlap between the two. The relationship between BCP and DRP can be viewed from a variety of perspectives, which altogether provide a better understanding of their purposes and application.

On top of the need to differentiate between business continuity and disaster recovery, the widespread impact of the current COVID-19 crisis, especially on businesses and supply chains, has unfolded the necessity to deal with business disruptions in all their forms and the significance of quick and effective recovery. This research clarifies the purpose of BCP and the purpose of DRP and their role in combating impacts of disruptive incidents on businesses and organizations.

BCP and DRP are discussed extensively in the literature. Yet, few studies attempted to address the precise functions of the two resulting in an obvious confusion between their meaning and purpose which subsequently reduced the uniqueness of their application and the uniqueness of the application of each. Only a small minority of practitioners and academics recognise the precise differences between the two. This study aims at clarifying this misconception to a wider set of readers and interested parties.

To assess which partnerships were most critical during the recovery planning process following Hurricanes Maria and Irma. We discuss the roles and impact of different types of partners, barriers and facilitators to partnerships and lessons in collaboration during the development of the economic and disaster recovery plan for Puerto Rico.

The Homeland Security Operational Analysis Center (HSOAC) was tasked with assisting the Puerto Rican government with an assessment of damages from Hurricanes Maria and Irma and the development of the Recovery Plan. During the process, a small team compiled and coded a database of meetings with non-HSOAC partners. The team was divided into sector teams that mirrored FEMA’s Recovery Support Functions. Each sector completed two surveys identifying high impact partners and their roles and contributions, as well as barriers and facilitators to partnerships.

A total of 1,382 engagements were recorded across all sectors over seven months. The most frequently identified high impact partners were federal and Puerto Rican governmental organizations partners. NGOs and nonprofits were noted as key partners in obtaining community perspective. Sector teams cited a lack of trust and difficulty identifying partners as barriers to partner engagement. Given the expedited nature of disaster response, establishing partnerships before disasters occur may help facilitate community input. Early networking, increased transparency and defining roles and responsibilities may increase trust and effectiveness among partnerships.

To our knowledge, this is one of the few studies that quantifies and illustrates the partnerships formed and their contributions during recovery planning, and lessons learned.

Although gender dimensions have been widely discussed in social research, many disaster relief and recovery programs still ignore gender needs and gender discrepancies. Specially, in a disaster situation, certain cultures and governments have a lack of mind-set and skills to focus on women's needs adequately although it requires much more investigation. During natural disasters, females face unprecedented challenges than men, because they are vulnerable and marginalized – socially, culturally, economically, and politically. To overcome these challenges, it is strongly suggested that a multifaceted decision-making process is practiced.

This chapter explains challenges for women in a natural disaster situation and discusses how to overcome difficulties and rebuild livelihoods of a vulnerable population in Sri Lankan society. The 2004 tsunami claimed over 40,000 lives, displaced about 1.0 million from their homes, and caused severe damage to the physical infrastructure and the damage estimated was well over US $1.5 billion. As the female population face unprecedented challenges, it is suggested that gender needs and gender discrepancies require thorough investigation. This chapter presents a study based on needs assessment carried out in tsunami impact communities in East and South Sri Lanka in 2005 and outlines the lessons learned on how women and men operate and anticipate post-disaster relief and recovery. Using participatory mapping methodology (e.g., narratives, ethnographic observations, community mappings, key informant interviews, focus group interviews, and other qualitative methods) this study suggests effective techniques to incorporate gender needs in a natural disaster situation.

Reports that EDI systems differ from traditional computer systems and, therefore, have special disaster recovery issues that need to be addressed; the main difference being that EDI systems cross organizational boundaries. Explains that this crossing of boundaries means that an organization must look beyond its own walls when constructing a disaster recovery plan. Identifies various concerns for inter‐enterprise systems. Presents a framework based on how the phases for disaster recovery planning can be used to address and plan for these concerns.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of disaster recovery and contingency planning for digital library systems.

Using best practices, the paper develops a context for developing business continuity and disaster recovery plans.

Business continuity planning and disaster recovery are important components of digital library system planning. Two out of five organizations that incur a major disaster event are unable to permanently recover, but by developing a continuity and recovery plan in advance, libraries can greatly increase the likelihood of long‐term recovery of institutional resources.

This paper will be of interest to systems developers and managers, as well as senior library management, who need to plan for unexpected organizational disruption. The paper provides a context and outline for developing a business continuity and disaster recovery plan.

The purpose of this paper is to determine how facility managers currently plan for emergencies and disaster recovery. Although preparation and drills have been demonstrated to improve lifesaving and business recovery capabilities, many organisations still do not have these plans. The scope of unpreparedness and reasons for lack of preparation were key issues, along with preferred methods to gain support for setting up plans.

Online surveys sent to members of facility management (FM) groups within the USA were utilised. Qualified FM professionals made them relevant survey groups.

With 78 percent of respondents responsible for their organisation's emergency preparedness planning, only 87 percent in 2007 and 92 percent in 2008 actually have these plans in place. Reasons for lack of plans included “other priorities taking precedence” and “lack of personnel to address the issue”. Provision of sample or boilerplate templates could result in improved performance.

US FM professionals were surveyed. Results in non‐US locations may provide different information; locations with strong mandates for emergency/disaster plans would be expected to have better results. Industry types were not identified in this initial research data; however, future research could help to align specific industries' needs.

Despite 11 September and other tragedies, many organisations are still delaying or not understanding the importance of emergency/disaster recovery plans for their employees and business continuity.

Direct feedback from FM professionals was utilised to understand emergency preparedness/disaster recovery planning. This is the first survey to report details of the many organisations still lacking these critical plans.

The purpose of this paper is to address the problems associated with informatics and analytics projects that are developed in an “organic” manner. As such, this often circumvents formal project management principles and practices. The decision to do this is determined by organizational factors; however, even in an informal environment, ensuring that adequate disaster recovery and business continuity plans are in place for all mission-critical applications is vital to ensure the long-term survival prospects of an organization in the event of a disaster.

By adapting the principles and techniques of traditional disaster recovery and business continuity planning, an informatician can develop plans that integrate the requirements of their projects into a larger, organization-wide plan to recover from incidents and ensure continuity of business operations.

The use of disaster recovery planning and business continuity planning can help ensure the long-term viability of informatics and analytics projects within an organization.

Most business continuity planning is focused on projects that are formally developed and relatively large in scale. This paper applies these principles and practices to informatics and analytics projects that are developed informally and managed casually. Thorough an example, the point that more traditional disaster recovery and continuity practices can and should be applied in this less-formal environment is demonstrated.

Business continuity and disaster recovery are directly associated frameworks which guarantee the continued operations of organisations after a disaster has occurred. Thus, researchers have continued to investigate best practices in this area. It is in this vein that the authors of this study seek to draw attention to what pertains in Ghana and what role the government can play to improve the situation. The purpose of this study is to explore some of the disasters which have been suffered by businesses in Ghana as well as the causes, effects and lessons learnt. The study will also look at business continuity and disaster recovery measures that could have been implemented in the examples provided.

The study follows a literature review approach by reviewing secondary data on both man-made and natural disasters that have affected Ghana in the past decade through the review of literature.

The comprehensive study of the selected disasters indicated the presence of business continuity and disaster recovery measures in some formal institutions; however, the informal sector appeared to have minimal provision for handling disasters.

The authors were limited to the use of the account from the resources used since this study relied on secondary data.

The study indicates that businesses in Ghana must implement business continuity and disaster recovery plans to protect business operations in the event of a disaster.

The study has not been previously published in any other journal. Secondary data for carrying out the study were obtained from other publications including online media platforms in Ghana.