On the 11 May, the Australian Emergency Management Library will be packed up to start its new life in Canberra, its new home will be in the  Lionel Murphy Library at the Attorney-General's Department.

The library service will continue as usual, so members will still be able to request items and ask reference questions. The only difference is the address:

Lionel Murphy Library
3-5 National Circuit
BARTON ACT 2600

Library members should now be aware of MyAthens, there was some confusion over the first email, but the reason for the UK email address is that the supplier is based in the UK.  The link is safe to open and login details are included in the email.  If you are having issues with your logins or want to update your details, please contact the library em.library@ag.gov.au

Please have a look at this new service, along with the Web Discovery layer, you will be able to access all of the databases, journals and ebooks to which the library subscribe using a single login, but is only available to our Australian members. If the current statisitcs are anything to go by, it looks like many of you have already taken up the challenge.

We have also been busy uploading the library records to Libraries Australia, so the collection can be accessed through Trove allowing other libraries to request items on behalf of their members.

As the library is going through significant changes, please bear with us, especially during the first couple weeks of May, and we look forward to continued support from our members as we make this transition.

The library will be conducting a stocktake of the collection in the first week of March in preparation for the transition to Canberra at the end of April.  If you have any books out on loan, can you please return them.


In  response to Scot Phelp's comment suggesting his top 5 graduate-level disaster science books, here is the list and all of the titles are avaliable to be borrowed by library members.

Facing the Unexpected, 2001, by Kathleen J.Tierney, Michael K. Lindell and Ronald W. Perry. This book presents the wealth of information derived from disasters around the world over the past 25 years. The authors explore how these findings can improve disaster programs, identify remaining research needs, and discuss disaster within the broader context of sustainable development.

 Hurricane Andrew: ethnicity, gender and sociology of disasters, 1997, edited by Walter Gillis Peacock, Hugh Gladwin and Betty Hearn Morrow. This book explores how social, economic and political factors set the stage for Hurricane Andrew by influencing who was prepared, who was hit the hardest, and who was most likely to recover. Employing unique research data the authors analyze the consequences of conflict and competition on disaster preparation, response and recovery, especially where associated with race, ethnicity and gender.

Mission improbable: using fantasy documents to tame disaster, 1999, by Lee Clarke. What happens when we must plan for massive disaster but have no experience, no clue about how to go about it? Mission Improbable enters the world of managers and experts who think they can rebuild societies after nuclear war, who think they can evacuate huge numbers of people after nuclear meltdowns, and who think they can cleanup huge oil spills. It is a world of whimsy and fantasy, a world where people have to think they can control the uncontrollable.

Resilience engineering in practice, 2011, edited by Erik Hollnagel, Jean Paries,David Woods and John Wreathall.  Resilience engineering has since 2004 attracted widespread interest from industry as well as academia. Practitioners from various fields, such as aviation and air traffic management, patient safety, off-shore exploration and production, have quickly realised the potential of resilience engineering and have became early adopters.

 

Key readings in crisis management: systems and structures for prevention and recovery, 2006, edited by Denis Smith and Dominic Elliott. One of the first books of its kind in the subject area, this groundbreaking text brings together seminal papers in the area of crisis management and organizational theory. Covering this important field from both a theoretical and practical perspective, it features key readings from Karl Weick, Charles Perrow and many other luminaries of the field.

Are these the top 5 Emergency Management books?
According to the 2011 Body of Knowledge Report, the result of a survey of 56 institutes in in the United States ranked the following as the top 5 in a list of 93 books, they are.

All of these books are available to be borrowed by library members.

Introduction to Emergency Management 5th edition, 2013 by George Haddow, Jane Bullock and Damon Coppola.

Learn about the discipline of emergency management as it has developed over the past 6 decades, including the rapid evolution of the field since the turn of the century. The fifth edition of Introduction to Emergency Management combines practical and academic presentations of disaster preparedness, mitigation, response, recovery and communications. Extensive case studies cover recent disasters, offering ample opportunity for current students and practitioners to build their critical thinking skills and grow into the next generation of leaders in this increasingly important profession.

Disaster Policy and Politics: Emergency Management and Homeland Security, 2nd edition, 2014 by Richard Sylves

In the Second Edition of Disaster Policy and Politics, author Richard Sylves provides much-needed contemporary coverage of the fields of disaster management and homeland security interspersed with mini-case studies of events such as the Tuscaloosa tornado; the Boston Marathon bombing; Superstorm Sandy; the Boulder, Colorado floods of 2013; Japan’s quake-tsunami and ensuing Fukushima nuclear disaster; as well as Hurricane Katrina and 9/11. Paying special attention to the role of key actors—decision makers at the federal, state, and local levels; scientists; engineers; civil and military personnel; officials; and first responders—the author explores how physical and social science researchers contribute to and engage in disaster policy development and management.

 

Disaster Response and Recovery, 2006 by David McEntire

Providing readers with a well-rounded understanding of disaster responses, this book first explores the various types of disasters that may occur. It then uncovers the myriad of actors that are involved in emergency management as well as the diverse theoretical frameworks from which post-disaster activities may be approached. Readers will gain a better understanding of the typical challenges to be expected during response efforts as well as the tools and techniques that will enhance the ability to protect lives, reduce property damage and minimize disruption.

Disasters by Design: A Reassessment of Natural Hazards in the United States, 1999 by Dennis Mileti

Disasters by Design provides an alternative and sustainable way to view, study, and manage hazards in the United States that would result in disaster-resilient communities, higher environmental quality, inter- and intragenerational equity, economic sustainability, and improved quality of life. This volume provides an overview of what is known about natural hazards, disasters, recovery, and mitigation, how research findings have been translated into policies and programs; and a sustainable hazard mitigation research agenda. Also provided is an examination of past disaster losses and hazards management over the past 20 years, including factors--demographic, climate, social--that influence loss.

Introduction to International Disaster Managment, 2011 by Damon Coppola


Disaster management is a vibrant and growing field, driven by government spending in the wake of terrorist attacks and environmental debacles, as well as private-sector hiring of risk managers and emergency planners. An ever-increasing number of practicing professionals needs a reference that can provide a solid foundation in ALL major phases of supervision - mitigation, preparedness, response, communications, and recovery. As climate change leads to further costly catastrophes and as countries around the world continue to struggle with terrorism, the demand for solutions will only grow. This revised edition of Coppola’s revered resource meets said demand head-on with more focused, current, thoughtfully analyzed, and effective approaches to disaster relief.

As the largest emergency management library in the southern hemisphere, the Australian Emergency Management Library houses a unique collection, especially information collected at the time of events such as Cyclone Tracy, Ash Wednesday and the Granville train disaster.

Want to know more? Anyone with an interest in emergency management can join the library online .

Members can access journal articles, ebooks, dvds and books which cover the entire range of emergency management subjects including the psychological aspects, recovery, business continuity and volunteering.  Searching the catalogue is easy and with a search box at the bottom of the page on the Australian Emergency Management Knowledge Hub, it is easy to find what you are looking for.

Can't find what you need? Ask a Librarian

 

 

As part of the 2014–15 Budget, the Australian Government announced that AEMI will vacate its Mt Macedon premises and operate out of Canberra. The transition process, to be completed by mid-2015, will allow AEMI greater flexibility to deliver emergency management education and training, and products and services in new and innovative ways. AEMI is committed to the continued delivery of the Advanced Diploma of Public Safety (Emergency Management) as well as many of the current AEMI programs, and to develop new products and services to enhance the building of national disaster resilience.

Looking to the future, AEMI’s role as the national Centre of Excellence for emergency management education and training is both valued and assured. What is changing is only the aspects of how AEMI will deliver emergency management education and capability development by being more agile and responsive to the needs of jurisdictions and to agencies with emergency management contexts.

The AEMI Transitioning Team, led by Mark Crosweller, Director-General Emergency Management Australia, is currently working through developing the future education delivery products, as well as the community engagement and knowledge management products and services that will continue to meet the needs of the sector and wider community.

 

Further information can be found the Australian Emergency Management Institute Facebook page.

 

 

It has been a busy time at the Australian Emergency Management Library with the hosting of the 23rd annual Australasian Libraries in the Emergency Sector (ALIES). Conference.  It was held at the Australian Emergency Management Institute on 15 to 17 April, the theme was "Anatomy of a Disaster", several speakers shared their experiences of working closely with survivors of natural disasters and the challenges they encountered. The workshop held Jamie McKenzie from the Country Fire Authority certainly gave the delegates something to think about in terms of decision making. 

 

The informal panel sessions gave everyone an opportunity to participate and share their experiences in the information management environment as we all strive to inform the emergency management sector.

 

This conference provided librarians from the emergency management sector the oppportunity to gain an understanding of how we can work together for the best outcome after a disaster.

 

 

 

Jamie McKenzie


 

Panel session

 

WELCOME TO A NEW YEAR

The team at the Australian Emergency Management Library and Knowledge Hub would like to wish our members all the best for 2014 and look forward to assisting you with your information requirements.

Your will find more information about disasters on the Australian Emergency Management Knowledge Hub, while you are there have a look at the blog updated regularly by guest bloggers.

  

We have added a number of new books to the collection which you can borrow from the library using the
request forms. 

 

Here are just a few, check out the list on the New Books page for even more.

 

 



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