Dr. Steve Albrecht: “A Plan For Library Emergencies: Medical Events, Fires, and Beyond”

OVERVIEW:

In the realm of safeguarding our library premises, visitors, and team members, it’s crucial to adopt a forward-looking perspective. We don’t need to fixate on improbable scenarios (things that will likely never happen), but we do need to envision the potential challenges of things that might happen and be proactive, not reactive, in our approach. By thoughtfully planning and preparing comprehensively for potential emergencies, including medical events, fires, and unforeseen circumstances, we can avoid unfortunate or catastrophic incidents that otherwise could lead to hard, painful, and often expensive lessons as to what we should have done.

Recent disasters like the fires in Maui and the flooding from storms in California should remind all library leaders and staff members that we have to think boldly, put emergency plans in place, and then get back to the business of running, managing, and shepherding our library spaces.

This training session is all about helping library leaders and employees think in advance of what they need to do – at every level – and then be ready to do those things, in the rare or likely event an emergency or a near-miss event happens. We can’t predict fires, medical emergencies, serious injuries to staff or patrons, or the impact of climate, weather, and geology on our buildings (California had a 5.4 earthquake right during Tropical Storm Hilary), but we can be ready if the unthinkable becomes possible.

This 60-minute training webinar is presented by Library 2.0 and hosted by trainer, author, and library service, safety, and security expert, Dr. Steve Albrecht. A handout copy of the presentation slides will be available to all participants.

LEARNING AGENDA: 

• Creating an emergency handbook for your library, which includes plans and procedures for responses and evacuations.
• Building your ICE box – In Case of Emergency.
• Learning and meeting with state and local Office of Emergency Services (OES) personnel in advance.
• What can we learn from recent national events to help us think about likely and unlikely emergencies?
• Developing your first-responder network.

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.)