Strategic Positioning of Archives in Disaster Recovery Procedures

Abstract

This paper will show that by positioning itself as a centre of excellence for emergency planning and disaster recovery, London Metropolitan Archives (LMA) has established itself as a key player for the City of London. LMA could demonstrate it already had detailed emergency plans and disaster recovery plans in place which meant it was ahead of other parts of the organisation. The archive reference room resembled very closely a disaster recovery centre. Discussions enabled the vision of a disaster recovery centre to be located in the archive building at LMA. The paper will look at the ways in which this has provided challenges in space planning and technological infrastructure but its reputation as a provider of excellent public services has enabled it to be a very valuable participant in wider security and emergency planning initiatives.