As an experiment, students responded to simulated “fire” and “water” disasters at the Dalton Archive and the Museum Program office while communicating over walkie-talkies with a Disaster Liaison, a role played by Dalton Archivist Kris Santos. Their goal was to document the scenes and to determine what kind of disaster(s) occurred in each room. They then collected damaged archival items to save, ultimately conserving institutional history to the best of their ability. Students learned on-the-spot techniques to conserve damaged documents with tools at the onsite conservation lab. They also learned about what actions are required to take in disaster response scenarios, including the importance of collaboration and inquiry.

With appraisal and archival knowledge taught by Jennifer Stolper Muenz and Shira Kohn in class, the students successfully responded to the disasters during the workshop to save marginalia, ephemera, publications, and photographs. They also learned about the implications of lost institutional records due to unforeseen natural disasters.

Special thanks to the individuals who made this workshop a possibility: Michelle Marcus, Neil Goldberg, Emma Burke, Natalie Orozco, Roxanne Feldman, Christy Payne, Tim Delaney, Ryan Davis, Slawek Szczepankowski, Shira Kohn, Jennifer Stolper Muenz, Emma Rothberg, Ilija Dolinga, and José M. De Jesús