“Person of Interest – Safety and Security in the Library”
This was a very informative panel on the importance of safety in the library and what we can do to stay safe. The panel consisted of three speakers, Nancy Relaford Director of Safety and Security for libraries at UC San Diego, Michael Daly, director of logistics and security management from the Queens Borough Public Library, and Stevan Layne from Layne Consultants International.
Nancy’s presentation wins for best title, “A Naked Guy Walks into your Library”. She pointed out that if you google “naked man library” the search will net over 2 million results, including the headline, “Naked man arrested at library with stolen cheese.” While that sounds funny (and it did to the audience), the reality is is that it’s not so funny while it’s happening. It can be unpredictable and scary and staff will probably be caught off guard as to what to do. Nancy emphasized (as did others in this presentation) that the first step is to call the police! She acknowledged that this is a learned step for most people. At UC San Diego, she specializes in awkward patron training in which staff can talk through stressful scenarios, and where the staff receives training in dealing with various patron type situations. Some of the topics covered include unreasonable patron requests (“could you read the entire book to me over the phone?”), lonely/chatty patrons, challenging patrons, delusional, vaguely/threatening, medical emergencies, and serious disruptions. The training also includes what to do during that brief period of time in which the police are called and the time that they arrive. Nancy stressed the importance of getting to know emergency personnel before an incident happens. A lot of police forces have someone who can do training.
Michael Daly also started his presentation on a humorous note with a slide show of patrons having to be removed from the library with the theme song from Cops playing in the background. His presentation was wonderful, however, with a stress on how to react to patrons who may cause problems, as well as an insight as to why they behave a certain way. Like Nancy, he emphasized the importance of calling the police while stressing that staff are not trained police officers and shouldn’t attempt to act like them. The police are there for a reason. Michael mentioned four specific groups: Homeless Patrons, Emotionally Disturbed Persons, Disorderly Customers, and Teen and Tween Patrons. Staff should be aware of where homeless can get help and where there are shelters. Staff should never try to argue with patrons who are emotionally disturbed patrons, and treat them with respect, to have a backup plan and to immediately call 911 if patron is violent. Michael gave special emphasis to teens and tweens, saying that kids can detect biases, and that staff should be respectful but firm. He mentioned that kids will act up because they want attention. He encouraged having programs that will engage teens, and to encourage seeking grant funding for such programs. The Queens Library for Teens sounds like an amazing place with its emphasis on the Teen Enrichment Program. Michael also discussed their incident reports, the process for banning patrons (have an appeal process in addition to sending both a banning notice and a letter), and the importance of enforcing rules with consistency. The Queens Library also has very visible signs reminding patrons to watch their children and to watch their belongings. Like Nancy, he emphasized the importance of maintaining relationships with the local police, and lastly, it’s always good to remind staff that they are part of “one team”.
Stevan Layne discussed the various consulting methods in training various staffs about dealing with emergency situations. He discussed the importance of a laminated sheet under the phones on what to do in the event of an emergency, with details outlined for each type of emergency including severe weather and active shootings. He mentioned the importance of employee awareness, echoing Nancy about what should staff do between the time the police are called and they arrive on the scene. Staff should be aware that they have their own safety to protect, as well. He talked about how do you save yourself in addition to others who may not be able to help themselves. (unattended children, someone in a wheelchair). He said that yelling, “Stop” can be effective at temporarily stopping someone. He also talked about uniformed security and how to make sure it is up to par, security cameras, the importance of monitoring all openings to the building, and installing panic transmitters.
This was all very good and food for thought.
Reclaiming Literacy in the Digital Age.
This was a panel discussion about libraries handing the “new” literacy, ie, digital literacy. Digital literacy can be defined by ten different people in ten different ways. For instance, I feel comfortable using basic programs on the computer, so I would consider myself digital literate, yet I don’t know any programming so a computer programmer may consider me digital illiterate. There was some discussion about this, as well as discussion on iniatives to improve digital literacy. One such program is Globaloria in West Virginia a school program in which school age children design computer games. The games must be on a school topic, and it encourages students to engage in critical thinking skills, self-led learning, peer to peer learning, and expert guided learning.
Before and After Harry Potter: Fantasy for grades 3-5 and 5-8
I attended this session because I always need to beef up on my fantasy reading and I am always trying to retain my young adult skills. It’s still my favorite literature but I feel like I’m less in the loop since I no longer do it full time. Plus, my strength lies in realistic fiction. I also was interested because there was some emphasis on what I call the pre-YA crowd (or “tween” if you prefer). The two speakers gave us some very helpful booklists and discussed a little about each book.
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