Service Continuity Plan

Over the summer, the AskAway Advisory Committee completed its revision of the AskAway Service Continuity Plan. The plan was unanimously endorsed by the BC ELN Steering Committee, based on a recommendation from the AskAway Advisory Committee. The recommendation encompassed consultations with AskAway participating libraries. The Service Continuity Plan is now available on the AskAway Portal and here: http://www.eln.bc.ca/askaway/documents/AskAwayContinuity201107.pdf The revised plan now includes strategies for AskAway service continuity in the event of two types of service disruptions: 1) ‘Vis Major’ events such as disasters, severe weather events, pandemics etc. and 2) job action at one or more AskAway institutions. Over the coming months the AskAway Administrative Centre will move forward on the preparation steps recommended in the plan. Context The AskAway Service Continuity Plan was originally written in response to the 2009 threat of a pandemic. It was later revised to incorporate responses to a broader variety of service disruptions such as natural disasters, weather events, etc.. The Plan outlines strategies for maintaining the AskAway service in the case of unexpected circumstances that prevent service providers from staffing AskAway or that result in a sudden increase in AskAway traffic. Following the March 2011 job action at Vancouver Island University, the AskAway Advisory Committee engaged in an extensive review of the Service Continuity Plan involving all participating libraries and representatives from the Ministry of Advanced Education (AVED). An AskAway Advisory subcommittee, consisting of Sheryl Adam (UBC), Todd Mundle (SFU), David Pepper (BCIT) and Sunni Nishimura (AskAway Coordinator), undertook the revisions of the Service Continuity Plan. The current (July 2011) version was reviewed by BC ELN library directors and additional representatives from AVED. It was put forward as a recommendation by the AskAway Advisory Committee, and was unanimously endorsed by the BC ELN Steering Committee. Questions? Please contact: Mary Anne Guenther AskAway Advisory Committee Chair (250) 334-5001 MaryAnne.Guenther@nic.bc.ca Sunni Nishimura AskAway Coordinator 778.782.6937 / sunnin@eln.bc.ca