If you define yourself as a Rural Librarian, see if these scenarios sound familiar:
- A man comes in and asks you for the time. You tell him and he nods and goes to sit at a nearby table, where he just stares at you for the next two hours . . .
- A female comes in and tells you she is living on the streets. She asks if she can use your restroom. She goes inside and locks the door. An hour later and she’s still in there . . .
- A group of local teenagers come into your library and start messing with your displays, rolling the book carts around, and making noise. You ask them to leave and they refuse . . .
- A man who is angry at the county comes into your library to ask you for legal advice. When you tell him you cannot give him that type of help, he takes a gun out of his backpack and places it on the counter.
If you work in a city or county library in an active neighborhood in a larger community, you would know how to address each of these by getting help from a co-worker, by asking a supervisor to speak to these people, by disengaging and doing your work at another part of the facility, or even by going into a back room and calling the police from a safe place. However, if you work in a rural library location–which can be defined as having a police or sheriff’s response that could be 20 minutes to an hour away, working alone in the building, or working in a one-room facility, with only one way in or out–these options aren’t always available.
This webinar is here to help.
About the Speaker
DR. STEVE ALBRECHT. Since 2000, Dr. Steve Albrecht has trained thousands of library employees in 28+ states, live and online, in service, safety, security, and supervision. His programs are fast, entertaining, and provide tools that can be put to use immediately in the library workspace with all types of patrons. In 2015, the ALA published his book, Library Security: Better Communication, Safer Facilities. He is currently writing the sequel, The Safe Library: Keeping Users, Staff, and Collections Secure, for Rowman & Littlefield. Steve holds a doctoral degree in Business Administration (D.B.A.), an M.A. in Security Management, a B.A. in English, and a B.S. in Psychology. He is board-certified in HR, security management, employee coaching, and threat assessment. He has written 24 books on business, security, and leadership topics. He lives with six dogs, two cats, and three chickens. (Not all in the same room, of course.)
