Introduction
This study aimed to describe and assess crisis management in cultural centers across Iran’s central plateau, focusing on the condition of buildings and structures.

Methods
This research is classified as applied in terms of its purpose and mixed in terms of its methodological approach. The study population included all museums, libraries, and documentation centers affiliated with the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts. Due to the small population size, no sampling was conducted. Instead, the study involved 80 officials and managers from museums, libraries, and documentation centers across the provinces of Alborz, Tehran, Semnan, Qazvin, and Qom. These centers operate under the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism, and Handicrafts and adhere to international standards for museums, libraries, and documentation centers. The research utilized a survey method, semi-structured questionnaires, and interviews with descriptive analysis to examine the current conditions of buildings, crisis management practices, safety protocols, planning processes, and financial situations within these centers. Following the ISO 31000:2009 standard, a descriptive survey analysis was employed. Data were analyzed using SPSS software for both descriptive and inferential statistics to evaluate the situation, with results presented in table format.
Validity and reliability of the questionnaire: Since existing crisis management questionnaires were not suitable for the cultural and climatic contexts of Iran, the interview process involved adding necessary indicators to the questionnaire and removing irrelevant items to create a version tailored to our specific goals. To ensure the questions were relevant to the variables mentioned in the hypotheses and research questions, the questionnaire underwent review by professors specializing in information science, philology, and museum management. Additionally, it was circulated among several crisis management experts who helped identify and eliminate any vague or irrelevant questions, thereby confirming the validity of the research tool. To establish reliability, the questionnaire was distributed to 15 randomly selected managers from cultural centers for a pre-test. Reliability was then assessed by calculating the Cronbach’s α coefficient. Separate Cronbach’s α values were calculated for three sub-groups of crisis dimensions. The research results showed that Cronbach’s α coefficient for all dimensions across all three types of crisis management was equal to or above 75%, confirming the reliability of the questionnaire.

Results
The research revealed that all the studied centers are situated in regions prone to various crises. Specifically, 95% of these centers are vulnerable to both natural and man-made crises, including industrial disasters. The collections within these cultural centers typically comprise architectural pieces, metals, pottery, glassware, manuscripts, inscriptions, paintings, and printed books. An assessment of the physical conditions of the buildings housing museums, libraries, and documentation centers showed that 92.5% of these centers are housed in a single building. Furthermore, 53.75% of these buildings are over 200 years old, while 46.25% have been standing for more than 80 years.
Challenges in implementing effective crisis management are numerous. Officials express concerns about the inadequate state of crisis management, the absence of necessary and ongoing training for managers and staff, the lack of insurance for buildings and collections, and the absence of a crisis control plan. There is also a noted deficiency in effective and continuous communication with the public and specialized organizations, utilization of their services in crisis management, sufficient budgeting, and the necessary knowledge and skills in this field.
Moreover, 100% of the surveyed museums are located in areas threatened by various crises. Among these, 95% face both natural and unnatural crises along with industrial disasters. The most frequent potential hazards include drought-related issues such as subsidence, sinkholes, and dust, along with earthquakes (100%), fire (95%), theft (92.5%), vandalism (55%), pest infestations (48.5%), and air pollution (47.5%).

Conclusion
The study revealed significant dissatisfaction among managers and officials with the current implementation of crisis management in their respective museums, libraries, and documentation centers. Numerous challenges and obstacles were identified: Lack of continuous training in crisis management for employees, insufficient insurance coverage for buildings and collections, absence of a crisis control program, and inadequate communication with the public and specialist organizations. Additionally, there was a lack of specialized services in crisis management, insufficient budget allocation, and a general shortfall in necessary knowledge and skills. 
One fundamental issue, beyond financial, human, administrative, and structural resources, is the absence of an appropriate crisis management model tailored to the country’s climatic conditions. There is a critical need for a model that serves as a roadmap to guide proper planning in three key phases: Prevention, during the crisis, and post-crisis. The study found no evidence of a suitable model addressing these phases, particularly one that considers the region’s climate.
A significant finding from the research is the prevalent issue of drought, which affects 100% of the cultural centers in the study. Notably, more than 70% of managers were unaware of this looming threat. The drought leads to three hazardous conditions: Micro dust, subsidence, and sinkholes, all of which pose severe risks to the integrity of buildings and the preservation of historical and cultural monuments.

Ethical Considerations

Compliance with ethical guidelines
There were no ethical considerations to be considered in this research.

Funding
This article is taken from the PhD dissertation of Alireza Naseri Malvani, approved by the Islamic Azad University, Hamadan Branch. 

Authors' contributions
The authors contributed equally to preparing this paper.

Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgements
The authors hereby express their gratitude to all those who helped them in collecting information, writing, and editing this article.