A note on terminology

In this book, I have used ‘risk’ in the singular as an all-encompassing term for risk in general. Depending on the context, the term can also indicate a single and specific threat such as fire, flooding or theft. Synonymous with risk in the latter usage are ‘danger’, ‘peril’ and ‘threat’.

For purposes of simplicity and clarity, I have used the term ‘disaster planning’ throughout. In the general field, this activity is also referred to as ‘business continuity [or resumption, or recovery] planning’, ‘contingency planning’ and ‘emergency [response, or management] planning’. While I have misgivings about the sound and sense of ‘disaster planning’, I defer to common usage since most readers will be familiar with it.

Disaster planning comprises a series of procedures, plans and programmes that enable organizations to prepare for, respond to and recover from negative events of all kinds. For libraries and other information organizations, the author’s recommended classification of such events is as follows:

• An incident, for example a minor breach of security, a small loss of data or a minor injury at a site.
• An emergency, for example a number of minor casualties, a small toxic spill or the loss of valuable equipment.
• A major emergency, for example a serious casualty or casualties, extensive damage to a building or equipment that will involve serious inconvenience, or a power outage that disrupts operations for 24 hours.
• A disaster, for example any damage to the building(s) or equipment that will disrupt operations for more than 48 hours, any natural event (for example, high winds, winter storm, earthquake) that disrupts transportation or communications for more than 48 hours, or any serious loss of vital data (for example, borrower data that have been lost).
• A catastrophe, for example a large regional disaster that disrupts conditions across an entire region for an extended period of time, and that involves multiple casualties and the loss of facilities.
• A crisis, for example an event involving negative media coverage and adverse public relations during or following any of the above circumstances.

All of the above-mentioned terms have been used in different ways by other authors, organizations, professions and industries. I trust that readers will find my usage helpful, even though they may prefer different terms.

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