Library BCM Plan Template and Example
A complete, fill-in library Business Continuity Plan template with worked examples for Koha, AWS, and common library disruption scenarios.
This page contains a complete, worked example of a Library Business Continuity Plan. It is designed to be practical and short enough to use in an emergency. Adapt the sections marked [Your library] for your institution.
For background on why BCM matters and how to approach it, see Library Business Continuity Planning: A Practical Guide.
Tip: A printable, fillable PDF version of this template is available — see the bottom of this page.
1. Document control
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Document title | Library Business Continuity Plan |
| Library name | [Your library] |
| Version | 1.0 |
| Owner | Library Director |
| Approved by | Library Board / University Administration |
| Last reviewed | [Date] |
| Next review | [Date + 12 months] |
| Storage location | Shared drive + printed copy at circulation desk |
2. Purpose and scope
This plan helps [Your library] continue essential services during a disruption and recover normal operations as quickly as possible.
This plan covers:
- Public library services and patron-facing operations
- Circulation and patron services
- Access to Koha and the library management system
- Access to digital and e-resources
- Staff communication procedures
- Collection protection and recovery
- Supplier and IT escalation procedures
This plan applies to disruptions including:
- Koha / ILS system outage
- Internet or power outage
- Building closure (planned or emergency)
- Cyber incident or ransomware
- Key staff absence
- Flood, fire, or storm damage to the building or collection
3. Critical library services
Define how long each service can be unavailable before it causes serious harm to patrons or operations. Involve department leads when setting these tolerances.
| Service | Downtime tolerance | Manual workaround | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Circulation / loans | 4–8 hours | Offline checkout sheet or Koha Offline Circulation plugin | Circulation Lead |
| Patron returns | 1 business day | Manual returns box, reconcile later | Circulation Lead |
| Staff access to Koha | 4–8 hours | Manual loan/return log | Library Director / IT |
| OPAC / catalogue search | 24 hours | Staff-assisted search | Systems Librarian |
| E-resources access | 24 hours | Vendor portals and proxy support | E-resources Librarian |
| Public internet / computers | 1–3 days | Suspend or offer limited devices | IT / Facilities |
| Interlibrary loan | 2–5 days | Pause and notify patrons | ILL Coordinator |
| Email patron notices | 24–48 hours | Phone high-priority patrons directly | Circulation Lead |
| Special collections access | Immediate protection | Secure area, invoke disaster recovery | Collections Lead |
4. Business impact analysis
If Koha is unavailable
Staff cannot process checkouts, returns, renewals, patron registrations, holds, or fine payments. The library can continue limited circulation using a manual paper or spreadsheet-based process for up to one business day. After that, data accuracy and service quality will be affected.
Impact by area:
| Area | Impact |
|---|---|
| Circulation | Manual checkout only; fines and complex account actions paused |
| Cataloguing | All bulk edits paused; MARC imports queued |
| OPAC | Patrons cannot search catalogue by URL; staff can assist |
| Patron notices | Overdue and hold notices suspended |
| Reporting | Reports unavailable until system restored |
If the building is unavailable
Online services should continue where infrastructure permits, including OPAC access, e-resources, email support, and remote staff work. Due dates should be extended for items that cannot be returned. Public programmes and in-person events are suspended.
Koha / AWS component recovery targets
| Component | What it affects if lost | Target recovery |
|---|---|---|
| Koha staff interface | Staff cannot manage circulation or cataloguing | 4–8 hours |
| Koha OPAC | Patrons cannot search catalogue | 8–24 hours |
| Database | Core library data unavailable | Restore from latest backup |
| DNS / domain | Users cannot reach Koha by URL | 4–24 hours |
| Email notices | Due notices and patron emails delayed | 24–48 hours |
| AWS account access | Recovery actions blocked | Immediate escalation to KohaSupport |
5. Roles and responsibilities
| Role | Responsibilities during a continuity incident |
|---|---|
| Library Director | Declares a continuity incident; communicates with senior management; approves public communications |
| Systems Librarian / Koha Admin | Checks Koha availability; contacts KohaSupport or IT; coordinates restore or workaround |
| Circulation Lead | Activates manual circulation procedure; ensures transactions are entered into Koha after restoration |
| Facilities Contact | Handles building access, power, water, HVAC, fire, and physical safety |
| Communications Lead | Updates website, OPAC news, signage, and patron-facing notices |
| KohaSupport | Investigates system, network, backup, restore, and security issues on the hosted infrastructure |
6. Emergency contacts
Keep this list current. Review every six months. Print a copy and store it at the circulation desk.
| Contact | Name | Phone | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emergency services | — | 911 / local | — | Life-safety situations |
| Library Director | [Name] | [Phone] | [Email] | First call for any major incident |
| Deputy / alternate | [Name] | [Phone] | [Email] | If Director unreachable |
| Facilities / building | [Name] | [Phone] | [Email] | Power, HVAC, water, access |
| IT support | [Name] | [Phone] | [Email] | Local network and device issues |
| KohaSupport | — | — | [email protected] | Koha and AWS hosting issues |
| AWS account owner | [Name] | [Phone] | [Email] | For account-level actions |
| DNS / domain provider | [Provider] | [Phone] | [Email] | [Login owner] |
| Internet provider | [Provider] | [Support number] | — | — |
| Insurance | [Provider] | [Phone] | [Policy number] | — |
7. Incident response process
When a disruption occurs, follow these steps in order.
Step 1 — Identify the incident
Examples: Koha unavailable, building closed, power outage, cyber incident, flood, staff shortage.
Step 2 — Assess severity
| Level | Definition |
|---|---|
| Low | Minor disruption; workaround available; patrons minimally affected |
| Medium | Service disruption affecting staff or patrons; escalation may be needed |
| High | Major outage, safety issue, data risk, or building closure |
Step 3 — Declare a continuity incident
The Library Director or designated alternate decides whether to formally activate this plan. For Medium and High incidents, activate immediately.
Step 4 — Activate the relevant playbook
Go to Section 8 and follow the steps for the specific scenario.
Step 5 — Communicate
Notify staff first, then patrons if service is affected. Use the communication templates in Section 10.
Step 6 — Recover and document
Restore systems, reconcile manual records, reopen services, and complete the incident log in Section 11.
8. Scenario playbooks
8.1 Koha is unavailable
Symptoms:
- Staff cannot log into the Koha staff interface
- OPAC is unreachable or times out
- Error messages appear on login
Immediate actions:
- Check whether the issue affects one staff member or all staff
- Check whether your internet connection is working (try another website)
- Try accessing the OPAC and staff interface from a different network if possible
- Notify the Systems Librarian or Koha Administrator
- Contact KohaSupport at [email protected] if the issue is not local
Manual workaround — circulation:
Use the offline checkout sheet (see Section 11) to record all transactions. For each loan, record:
- Patron card number
- Item barcode
- Date and time
- Staff initials
- Any notes
Do not process fines, complex account corrections, or patron registration during the outage. Suspend bulk catalogue edits.
If you have the Koha Offline Circulation plugin installed, use it — it will sync all transactions automatically when Koha is restored.
Recovery:
- Confirm Koha staff interface and OPAC are accessible
- Enter all manual transactions into Koha
- Check for duplicates
- Resume patron notices
- Send incident summary to Library Director
8.2 Library building closed
Immediate actions:
- Confirm staff and patron safety — this is always first
- Instruct staff not to enter the building until cleared
- Update the OPAC news panel and website if accessible
- Extend due dates for the closure period
- Suspend overdue notices for items that cannot be returned
- Continue online support and e-resource access where possible
Communications: Use the building closure template in Section 10.
8.3 Internet outage
Immediate actions:
- Confirm whether the outage is limited to one workstation, the whole building, or a provider issue
- Contact the internet provider or campus IT
- If Koha is hosted on AWS and still reachable locally (unlikely for cloud-hosted), continue on local network
- Use a mobile hotspot for critical staff actions only if permitted by policy
- Move to manual circulation if Koha cannot be reached
Note: If Koha is cloud-hosted (KohaSupport standard), an internet outage at your location will prevent staff from accessing Koha entirely. Manual procedures apply.
8.4 Cyber incident
Immediate actions:
- Stop using affected devices immediately — do not continue working
- Notify IT security contact and Library Director right away
- Preserve evidence: do not delete suspicious emails, browser tabs, or logs
- Do not reset credentials until instructed by IT security
- Consider temporarily disabling affected accounts (not all accounts — only those known to be compromised)
- Contact KohaSupport if your Koha login, AWS account, or hosted data may be affected
Do not:
- Pay a ransom without consulting legal and IT security
- Wipe devices without IT security approval (evidence may be lost)
- Send communications to patrons until the scope is understood
8.5 Flood, fire, or storm damage
Immediate actions:
- Life safety first — do not enter unsafe areas
- Contact emergency services if needed
- Contact facilities management
- Photograph all damage for insurance purposes
- Protect undamaged collections if it is safe to do so
- Contact a conservation recovery vendor if materials are water-damaged
- Prioritise rare, unique, or high-value materials in any recovery effort
Collection priorities:
| Priority | Material type |
|---|---|
| 1 — Immediate | Rare books, archives, unique or irreplaceable materials |
| 2 — High | Special collections, local history items |
| 3 — Medium | Circulating collection, DVDs, periodicals |
| 4 — Low | Duplicate copies, discarded items |
8.6 Key staff absence
Immediate actions:
- Identify which critical functions are covered by the absent staff member
- Assign a temporary owner for each critical function
- Locate relevant documentation or logins held by the absent staff member
- Notify the Library Director if a critical function cannot be covered
Preparedness note: Each critical system (Koha admin, AWS console, DNS, email) should have at least two staff members who know how to access it. Review this annually.
9. Koha and AWS recovery information
Complete this section and review it annually or when any detail changes.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Koha system owner | [Library name] |
| Koha support provider | KohaSupport — [email protected] |
| AWS account ID | [Account ID] |
| AWS region | [e.g. us-east-1] |
| Koha staff URL | [e.g. https://koha.yourlibrary.org/cgi-bin/koha/mainpage.pl] |
| Koha OPAC URL | [e.g. https://catalog.yourlibrary.org] |
| DNS provider | [Provider name and login owner] |
| Backup location | AWS S3 — managed by KohaSupport |
| Backup frequency | [e.g. Daily] |
| Restore procedure owner | KohaSupport |
Tier capabilities reference
| Component | Standard / Basic tier | Enterprise tier |
|---|---|---|
| Koha application | Single cloud server | Multi-server where configured |
| Database | Local or managed depending on setup | Managed database (Aurora) |
| Backups | Scheduled automated backups | Enhanced backup and recovery options |
| Recovery point | Latest successful backup | Can include point-in-time recovery |
| Recovery time | Several hours depending on incident | Faster recovery target |
Recovery times depend on the nature of the incident and AWS service availability. Contact KohaSupport for an estimate specific to your configuration.
10. Communication templates
Patron notice: system outage
The library catalogue is currently unavailable due to a technical issue. Library staff are working to restore access.
During this time, some services may be limited, including catalogue search, renewals, and account access.
We apologise for the inconvenience and will provide an update when service is restored.
Staff notice: manual circulation active
Koha is currently unavailable. Please use the manual circulation sheet until further notice.
Record for each transaction:
- Patron card number
- Item barcode
- Date and time
- Staff initials
- Any notes
Do not process fines, account corrections, or patron registrations until Koha is restored. All manual transactions must be entered into Koha once the system is back.
Building closure notice
The library building is temporarily closed due to [reason]. Online services remain available where possible, including catalogue search and e-resource access.
Due dates for borrowed items will be reviewed and extended as needed. Please check the library website or call [phone number] for updates.
Cyber incident initial notice (internal)
A potential security incident has been identified affecting [system/device]. Staff are asked to stop using [specific device/system] immediately and contact [IT security contact].
Do not delete any emails or files. Do not attempt to fix the issue yourself. More information will follow shortly.
11. Manual forms
Offline circulation log
Print and keep at the circulation desk.
| Date | Time | Patron card # | Item barcode | Checkout / Return / Renewal | Staff initials | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Incident log
Complete for every continuity incident, no matter how small.
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date / time incident started | |
| Date / time detected | |
| Who detected / reported it | |
| Services affected | |
| Initial assessment (Low / Medium / High) | |
| Actions taken | |
| Who was contacted and when | |
| Workarounds activated | |
| Time service restored | |
| Root cause (if known) | |
| Follow-up actions required | |
| Completed by |
12. Testing and review
This plan should be reviewed at least once per year and after every significant incident.
Recommended tests
| Test | Frequency | Who leads |
|---|---|---|
| Koha outage tabletop exercise | Annual | Systems Librarian |
| Manual circulation drill | Annual | Circulation Lead |
| Backup restoration test | Annual | Systems Librarian / KohaSupport |
| Contact list verification | Every 6 months | Library Director |
| Staff briefing for new employees | On hire | Department leads |
Tabletop exercise: Koha outage scenario
Present this scenario to staff: “It is 9 AM on a Monday. Staff cannot log into Koha. The OPAC is unreachable. Patrons are beginning to arrive.”
Walk through:
- Who does what in the first 15 minutes?
- Where is the manual checkout sheet?
- Who contacts KohaSupport, and what information do they need?
- When and how do we communicate to patrons?
- When Koha is restored, how do we enter manual transactions without creating duplicates?
Document gaps and update the plan.
Get the fillable PDF version
A fillable PDF of this template — with your library name, contacts, and service details pre-filled — is available via the form below.
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