Dr. Steve Albrecht: “30 Library Service, Safety, and Security Tips: Making a Better Facility in One Month”

OVERVIEW:

Small changes can make a really big difference over time. Implementing useful practices at your library can help create safe, secure, and service-oriented policies, procedures, and operations that will improve staff motivation and morale and result in more satisfied patrons.

Making changes to your operational policies or Code of Conduct can take months and require a lot of stakeholder input. Sometimes it’s just faster, easier, and better to make day-by-day adjustments. After all, the little tugboat moves the big ship a little at a time, and soon enough, it’s going in another direction. The hot sun melts the huge iceberg a bit more each day until the difference is noticeable.

Plan for changes in your library using the calendar. What can you do in just one month? Quite a lot, actually. The new owner of a McDonald’s franchise is given an operations manual that covers an entire year’s worth of important tasks, beyond just the day-to-day work.Examples might include: on Day 73 – Powerwash all the windows; on Day 126 – Replace the speaker at the drive-through menu box; on Day 322 – Restripe the parking lot.

Setting guideposts and meeting big goals are important to every business. We can do a lot for the safety and security of our library, our employees, and our patrons, in just one month. Join Dr. Steve Albrecht as he provides a one-month template, using practical ideas to help library leaders and staffers create a safer, more secure, more service-driven library.

LEARNING AGENDA:

• Service Keys: Service Blueprinting; the Patron’s Customer Value Model; Social Media Policies; Four Workplace Cultures; Photo and Video Policies; Preventing Service Fatigue.
• Safety Keys: Parking Lot Perils; First Responder Lists; First Aid Kits; Code Pink Drills; Space Re-Designs; Domestic Violence Civil Orders.
• Security Keys: Visitor Policies; Safe Room Kits; Lockdown Drills; Locking Door Hardware; Parking Lots; Panic Alarms.

This 60-minute overview session on is another in our “Essential Librarian Series,” designed to be shown to new staff and leaders and to provide a refresher for all who work in the library. The presentation slides will be available to all who participate.

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, and security. 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. His new book, The Safe Library: Keeping Users, Staff, and Collections Secure, was just published by 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 25 books on business, security, and leadership topics. He lives in Springfield, Missouri, with six dogs and two cats.