A panel meeting on disaster preparedness: planning and recovery was opened by A. Russell. The other subjects speakers were: C. Brooks on cooperative and regional disaster preparedness; R.C. Baker on disaster training: a regional approach; D. F. Methieson on preparations to reduce disaster; E. S. Banks on recovery measures for flooded archival materials including photographs at the Frederick Law Olmstead National Historic site; J. L. Stone on the evaluation of post flood handling and vacuum freeze drying of archival material: Frederick Law Olmstead National Historic site; S. A. Buchanan on disasters - what good news, what bad news.