This three-part article describes recovery efforts following a disastrous fire at the Academy of Sciences Library in Leningrad that destroyed 400,000 volumes and waterdamaged 3.6 million others. In her overview, Carolyn Sung provides the international context of the recovery efforts led by the Library of Congress. Valerii Leonov describes on-the-scene activities, in particular the innovative methods developed for mass disinfecting and drying. He also suggests the development of international measures to deal with disaster prevention and recovery. Peter Waters comments from his experience with the Florence flood. He praises the procedures used in Leningrad and the decision to implement a phased conservation program that advocates longer time frames for planning purposes and sequential treatments, the first of which is the fabrication of protective enclosures.

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