Learning gained from earthquakes
Interviewee (Pic: From the left)
Ayako Ryu Librarian
Mayumi Tanaka Librarian
Kei Hirota Librarian
Aya Oki Librarian
How was the order of priority determined during recovery work?
As aftershocks continued, we had to continue our work while securing employee safety, so we could not enter the storage room immediately after the earthquake.
Therefore, we decided to work from a space that is frequently used.
Is there any good advice you can give looking back on those days?
I got a hint of recovery by reading information and experiences on SNS in real time.
As an example, after returning the books to the shelving , a vinyl string was put on so that the book would not fall again due to aftershocks, and it was left as it was for about 3 weeks. The damage to the book could be reduced, and you can secure the escape path.
We prepared a whistle when reopening the use of the underground archive. Since mobile radio waves do not reach into the underground archive. If an earthquake occurs, you can let others know where about you are.
Also, sorting books by size was useful for preventing the falling of the bookshelves.
Was there anything you think you should have done differently?
There are 2 points.
We should have grasped the damage situation at an earlier stage.
It was two months after the earthquake occurred that we could start to clean the underground archive, but mold had grown from the water damage.
I felt the importance of grasping the whole situation at an early period.
The second point is how to take pictures of the damage situation.
We took a lot of pictures, but the pictures are dark and almost look the same.
As a material to leave behind in posterity, I think it is useful to take a fixed point picture from the same angle before and after restoration.
As a future measures
At Kumamoto University, which is focused on globalization, it is necessary to rethink once again the correspondence of international students and other Japanese to non-native speakers. It is important to prepare for emergencies using pictures and symbols.
Also we noticed that it was better to lay out bookshelves assuming earthquakes may occur.
It is better not to put tall shelving near glass. Instead, using short shelving with casters can prevent secondary disasters such as falling shelves.
KUMAMOTO UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
Address: 2-40-1 Kurokami Chuo-ku Kumamoto-Shi Kumamoto
URL: http://www.lib.kumamoto-u.ac.jp/
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