The Learning Resource Center (LRC) at the National Emergency Training Center is a great resource that provides prevention and fire safety related materials for fire safety educators. The LRC is a reference service that provides both onsite and an online catalog of resources. The beauty of the LRC is that many materials may be obtained through an interlibrary loan
The LRC has been in existence since 1978, and the easiest way to access their materials is through their online catalog. This online catalog is available to students, first responders and the public 24/7 and there are over 18,000 downloadable documents. And get this~ The LRC has the most extensive collection of fire service literature in the United States
You may access the LRC’s Online Public Access Catalog to perform your own literature searches. According to their website, LRC staff index nearly 5,000 newly published articles each year, from scores of professional journals, magazines and newsletters across the country and internationally. That is an amazing collection, wouldn’t you agree?
Another benefit to utilizing the LRC is that their helpful staff will do literature searches, compile bibliographies, and, depending on length and copyright restrictions, provide documentation in the form of reports and articles.
The LRC is open to the general public; however only NETC personnel and students of the National Fire Academy may borrow materials directly from the LRC. The LRC requests that should you wish to visit their facility, that you please call them at least 24 hours in advance. Doing so will help expedite your entry thru security. Please note that you will not be granted admittance after 5PM (Monday-Thursday) or on the weekend unless you've called them in advance.
As mentioned earlier, you can access the LRC's collection of books and research reports by requesting interlibrary loan through your local library. Please keep in mind that audiovisuals, magazines, and general reference materials are non-circulating.
Should you like more information on the LRC, please visit their website at http://www.lrc.fema.gov. Their site is a great resource in itself! You can sign up for e-newsletter updates and learn ways to search their database from your mobile device (http://www.worldcatmobile.org/?site=netc).
Here are two other helpful links that you might find useful:
LRC overview Video Slideshow: http://www.lrc.fema.gov/downloads/tutorials/slide5a.htm
LRC brochure: http://www.lrc.fema.gov/downloads/fa-319.pdf
Over the years I have personally found the LRC to be an incredible resource for my fire safety efforts. I hope that you find this resource useful as well. If you have a story that you would like to share about your experience with the LRC or know of some great fire safety and/or fire prevention materials at the LRC, please send me a note at [email protected] and I will be sure to share it on the Playing it Safe blog here on Firehouse.com.
Until next time, stay safe!
