The United Kingdom and Ireland Blue Shield

Abstract

Since the launch of the United Kingdom and Ireland Blue Shield (UKIRB) in 2001, the organization has set itself an ambitious programme of awareness raising in cultural institutions. A questionnaire on disaster preparedness circulated to libraries, archives and museums in the UK and Ireland has shown that 75% of all respondents had experienced a disaster of some sort within the previous five years. However, further work undertaken by UKERB pointed to a lack of communication and sharing of best practice among libraries, archives, museums and the historic environment sector in the UK and Ireland. On a practical level, UKIRB was able to coordinate assistance to institutions in the Czech Republic following the floods of 2002. Another role has been as an information conduit during the Iraq war, disseminating information and organizing a national debate on how best to protect museums, archaeological sites and historic buildings affected by the war. The paper also considers the civil resilience structures of the UK and Ireland and describes the involvement of various organizations in promoting disaster planning and preparedness in the cultural sector.