dPlan is a free online tool that simplifies the process of writing a disaster plan for your collections. It provides a comprehensive fill-in-the-blank template into which you enter information about your institution. dPlan generates a printed disaster plan specific to your institution.

dPlan was developed to assist non-profit organizations that hold cultural collections, such as libraries, archives, historical societies, museums, town clerk offices, and others. We are sorry, but for-profit corporations cannot use dPlan at this time.

dPlan was prepared by Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners (MBLC). The development of the template was funded by the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

General Tips for Using dPlan

• Before signing up, explore the Demo but do not use the Demo to create your disaster plan, since that data may be overwritten by others at any time.
• Find out if anyone else in your institution has created a dPlan account before you begin, to avoid duplication of work and confusion due to multiple accounts.
• Use only one dPlan account, even if your institution has multiple buildings. You can “clone” your original plan and modify it as needed for multiple facilities.
• Start with dPlan Lite, which creates a “quick reference” disaster response and recovery plan.
• Plan for multiple sessions of data entry. Print and use the Data Collection Forms to collect information offline between sessions.
• Use Plan Management to give additional users access to part or all of your plan. Delegating tasks can speed up data collection and data entry.

Creating an Account
Go to the New User page and enter the information requested. The login for your account must be a valid email address. We suggest using a general email address associated with your institution that does not change frequently. Keep a record of your login and password. Provide email addresses for the primary contact person and an alternate contact person for your dPlan account. All emails from NEDCC regarding your dPlan account will be sent to these email addresses.

Click the Submit button at the bottom of the page to submit your account request. Once your account has been approved, you will receive an e-mail message confirming your login and password. Accounts are processed Monday through Friday, and approval may take up to 48 hours.

Choosing dPlan in Depth or dPlan Lite
You can access the data you enter into dPlan in two different ways:

dPlan in Depth displays and prints the full version of dPlan, which covers disaster prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. Since the goal of dPlan in Depth is to produce a plan that is comprehensive, data entry requires a significant investment of time.

 

dPlan Lite displays and prints only the parts of dPlan that focus on response and recovery. We recommend dPlan Lite for smaller institutions just beginning the disaster planning process, or for institutions that need to produce a response plan within a short timeframe.

To switch between dPlan in Depth and dPlan Lite
After you log in, go to the gray menu at the left. Click on Institutional Information, followed by About Your Institution. Under Plan Type in the middle of the page, click on In Depth or Lite, followed by the Submit button at the bottom of the page. The data you enter in dPlan Lite will populate dPlan In Depth, and vice versa, so you never have to re-enter data. Thank you!

Entering Data
Data is entered into a series of Web pages, which are grouped into sections in the Main Menu.

dPlan in Depth has seven main sections, with numerous sub-sections:

Institutional Information
Prevention
Response and Recovery
Supplies and Services
Scope and Goals
Staff Training
Distribution/Review/Updating

dPlan Lite has six main sections, with fewer sub-sections:

Institutional Information
Prevention (general facilities information and emergency shut-offs only) Response and Recovery
Supplies and Services
Scope and Goals
Distribution/Review/Updating

Use the links on the Main Menu to move between pages. Each main section will expand to show the sub-pages relating to that section. We recommend working through the pages in sequence, but this is not required. Throughout dPlan, “Tell Me More” buttons link to additional information about the topic(s) being addressed.

The Check My Progress feature on the Main Menu allows you to keep track of which pages you have completed.

Data you enter is NOT automatically saved. To save the data you have entered on a page, you MUST click “Save Changes” or “Submit” BEFORE you move on to another page. When entering data on longer pages, we recommend saving your work frequently to guard against accidental loss of data.

Viewing, Printing, and Saving a Copy of Your Plan
View/Print Options allows you to preview, print, or save all or part of your plan, and to view or print data collection forms (paper forms you can use to collect data for input into dPlan) and forms for keeping records during a disaster. When you choose View/Print Section in Progress, you can generate a PDF (portable document format) file that previews the section you are working on. When you choose View/Print Entire Plan, you can generate either a PDF file or an RTF (rich text format) file that shows how all the data you entered, incorporated into the dPlan template, will appear in your disaster plan. You can choose to print these files, save them to your computer, or return to data entry without printing.

IMPORTANT: You can modify the RTF file (e.g., to reformat or remove information that is not relevant), but if you choose this option, you must keep track of any changes and reproduce them when you update your dPlan data and generate another RTF file in future. The PDF file cannot be modified.

Maintaining Your Plan
We strongly recommend that you update your dPlan data every six months, generate an updated plan, and print it. Once you indicate that your plan is complete on dPlan’s Check My Progress page, your institution will be contacted automatically every six months with a reminder to update the information in your plan. All emails regarding your dPlan account will be sent to the login email address and to the primary and alternate contact email addresses.

For more detailed information about using dPlan, see the FAQ.

Are you ready to proceed? Choose one of these options:

Copyright © 2006, Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC)