The County of Bergen and the Bergen County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs, in partnership with the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts, offered a two-part course on Museum and Archives Disaster Response and Recovery in September of 2024, the first part being hosted virtually on zoom and the second as an in-person, hands-on practical.

The first part of the course reviewed the basics of disaster response, including the incident command system, personal safety, response steps, and some general salvage techniques.

The second part of the course consisted of an in-person mock disaster simulation, where participants used techniques reviewed in the first part to salvage a variety of materials, including artifacts, paper, photographs, and books. Personal safety, initial site assessment, object triage and tracking, and post-disaster debriefing were also addressed during the workshop.

Funding has been made possible in part through grant funds administered by the Bergen County Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs, Department of Parks, through a General Operating Support Grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State.