The RI Office of Library and Information Services (OLIS), in partnership with the RI State Archives, has been awarded an IMLS Connecting to Collections grant in the amount of $40,000.00. Together, OLIS and the Archives constitute an organizing framework that brings together the state’s libraries, archives, museums, historical and preservation societies, and municipal offices. Upon this framework, the State has initiated planning efforts that position it to move forward to a comprehensive statewide disaster planning effort to safeguard its heritage collections. The scope of the grant is as follows: to define and inventory the universe of RI’s heritage collections; adapt the Northeast Document Conservation Center’s “dPlan™: the Online Disaster Planning Tool” to fit the Rhode Island circumstance; convene stakeholders to adopt dPlan as the state’s standard disaster plan and define a series of response networks; train stakeholders in dPlan™; and publicize the result of the planning process among state and local emergency management agencies, first responders, and heritage stakeholders. A steering committee includes representative of libraries of all types, archives, museums, municipalities, historical and preservation societies, courts, the State Risk Manager, and the RI Emergency Management Agency. The Steering Committee provides professional and regional expertise in adapting dPlan™ to Rhode Island’s unique circumstance and will insure its continuity for the future. The Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) will adapt the online tool for Rhode Island.

OLIS and the State Archives have long been partners in the preservation of Rhode Island’s heritage. OLIS, a Division of the Department of Administration, is RI’s State Library Development Agency. The State Archives, a Division within the Office of the Secretary of State, acts as the official custodian and trustee for public records possessing permanent historical value.