Disaster recovery

In the event of a disaster, the ANU Archives can provide advice to staff on the recovery of damaged records. As a member of the DisACT network, we can also draw on the expert advice and facilities of other cultural institutions.

Salvaging flood-damaged records

If you have records or books which are wet, you need to act quickly to assess whether they need to be salvaged as mould will start to develop within a few days and cause further damage.

Staff from the University Archives (x52219) are available to assess research papers and other non-current records you may have and University Records staff (x54237) should be contacted about any current administrative records that have been damaged.

There is general advice on salvaging flood-damaged records from the National Archives of Australia: spreading out papers and fanning out books with electric fans to circulate the air is the best method (do not use heaters as this will encourage mould). If records are thoroughly saturated or you have wet film, tape or photographic material you will need professional help to minimise further damage. The National Film and Sound Archive gives general advice about salvaging water damaged audiovisual records.

For further advice contact the University Archives.

Contact

  •  University Archives
     +61 2 6125 2219