8.1 Establishing recovery operations

Decide on a location for your recovery operations, this might be an alternative office, temporary off-site facility, or a safe section within the affected building.  The location used to recover records must:

• be secure and not affected by the disaster
• have appropriate space to spread records out (preferably on benches and tables, not the floor)
• be accessible if you are using trolleys to move records, and
• have power and a phone, and if required, network access.

Organise necessary equipment and resources for recovery (e.g. fans, dehumidifiers, trolleys, water absorption pads, blotting paper or perforated paper towels, rubber gloves and dust masks). You will also need items located in your disaster store.

Start moving records to the recovery operations location for treatment.  Remember to note original locations to help with identification, particularly where damage has obscured labels (e.g. dirt or smudged ink).

8.2 Salvage and retrieval

Handling and movement

Extra care should be taken when handling damaged records as wet or burnt records are extremely fragile and susceptible to further damage.

Gloves should be worn and material should be handled as little as possible.  If records are wet or brittle, card, blotting paper or spun bonded polyester (e.g. reemay bought from fabric stores) can be placed underneath to provide additional support. Plastic crates or trays (e.g. bread creates) can also be used to provide additional support where trolleys are unable to fit down aisles.

When moving files, teams should move them as bundles, trying to retain the original order as much as possible. 

Volumes and bundles can be passed by human chain to trolleys and taken to the evaluation team.

Generally, as a safety measure, material should be taken from top shelves first. An exception to this rule is if the damage is from fire and the worst charring is noticed on the higher shelves (the least damaged materials from the highest areas should be salvaged first).

Packing records for relocation

• boxes should not exceed the weight recommended by Work Health and Safety officials
• paper records can be packed in plastic crates and taken by trolleys out of the affected area (plastic crates, particularly perforated styles e.g. bread crates, that allow water to escape, are better for very wet records than cardboard boxes, which can sag and break with moisture and pressure)
• material should not be piled on top of each other or moved in large batches
• records with running inks should be wrapped individually to not contaminate other items
• document records movements to track location changes

If you know freezing will be required consider methods of packing that will accommodate the process.

See Appendix 2. Packing records in a recovery operation for more information about packing records for transit or freezing.

Tips and tricks

• Human trains can be used to pass records out of tight spaces
• If the evaluation area is close by, the salvaged material can be placed on grids in an evaluation room, and records kept of the location of the grid and item
• Conveyer belts can speed up the retrieval of records and prevent WH&S issues, they are particularly useful on stairs
• Photograph records in their locations to support insurance claims