Digital disaster management in libraries in India

Abstract

Purpose – Disaster management is an issue that has received relatively little attention in libraries, particularly in India. With the growth in digital resources in libraries, it is necessary for librarians to understand and apply the ways of protecting digital data and the related equipment from disaster. The purpose of this paper is to address the issues related to digital data protection in libraries in India. It aims to investigate the perceptions of librarians about the probability of digital disasters happening in their libraries, and to assess the level of digital disaster preparedness among libraries. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire based survey of 276 libraries in the Western region of India was conducted to find out the digital data protection measures taken by them. The paper provides an overview and analysis of the general trends in digital data protection in these libraries. Findings – The research results indicate that due to lack of knowledge about handling of digital data, and inadequate digital infrastructure setup in organizations, the chances of loss of digital data are high. However, common measures like taking backup of data manually are mostly followed by all libraries. The paper has identified the trends in protection of digital data, as well as the lacunae, in Indian libraries. Basic guidelines on digital data preservation are also presented in the paper. Practical implications – The guidelines provided in the paper will be useful to any libraries to take measures for protection of the digital data. The libraries will be able to prepare their digital data protection plan and train the staff accordingly. Originality/value – This paper is the first to address the issue of digital disaster management in libraries in India. It provides a detailed analysis of digital data protection measures taken by Indian libraries currently.