Overview

WESTPAS (Western States and Territories Preservation Assistance Service) is a regional library and archives preservation service new in 2007. Its initial goal is to deliver education and training workshops on disaster preparedness, response, and collection salvage to 600 staff of libraries and archives in 14 participating states and territories: Alaska, American Samoa, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawai'i, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Northern Marianas Islands, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.

With major funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, contributions from preservation service companies, and partnerships with the state libraries and archives in the participating states, 40 workshops (see course locations and dates) will be delivered between September  2007 and December, 2008. The workshops will be located in regional libraries and archives selected to maximize participation.  Instructors are experienced preservation professionals from California, Hawai'i, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

Workshop participants will create written disaster response and collection salvage plans and be trained to teach staff at their home institutions to take appropriate action in the event of an emergency. In addition to providing formal training, the workshops will begin building networks of library and archives staff who can create a community of mutual aid assistance for disaster response and preservation of collections in the region.

In addition to training, WESTPAS maintains a 24/7 disaster assistance number to provide advice and help in the event of a collection disaster. See the contact information for further information.