The Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts (CCAHA), which was represented at the Philadelphia forum, has been awarded $189,000 by the Institute of Museum and Library Services to lead the Pennsylvania Cultural Resilience Network (PACRN), a two-year project to develop, coordinate, and consolidate statewide efforts to address disaster preparedness and response needs at museums and historic sites through new programs and resources. Components of the PACRN initiative include: emergency planning, response, and recovery training for museums and historic sites; the establishment of a trained response team to provide triage assistance when emergencies occur; expanded online emergency resources; and the development of an Annex concerning protocols at collecting institutions to be added to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency’s statewide response and recovery plans. Click here for more information.
Another cool Pennsylvania initiative is Pennsylvania’s Top Ten Endangered Artifacts. This campaign highlights the cultural significance of our nation’s valuable and vulnerable heritage held in trust in Pennsylvania’s museums, libraries, archives, and historic sites. Check out the Top Ten here and vote for your favorite artifact (and even consider a financial contribution). Anyone can vote, whether or not you’re a Pennsylvanian.
State Heritage Emergency Partnership 
This is great news for Pennsylvania! Speaking for one of the neighbor states (Delaware) it would also be outstanding if neighboring states could share best practices as they’re developed. We can all benefit from this partnership and together become better prepared!