It’s no secret that mental health issues, alone or mixed with substance abuse, can affect patron behaviors in the library. The questions for leaders and staff: Once we recognize these behaviors, what do we do about them? How do we keep staff and other patrons safe? What is a police issue versus a medical issue?
Mental health concerns range from: depression (which is anger turned inward and can make people anxious, angry, sad, and volatile); trauma history (fear, anxiety, rage, depression, fear of violence and the use of it); antisocial behaviors (lying, manipulation, boundary problems, threats); psychosis (out of touch with reality, fearful, delusional); bi-polar (grandiose, manic, depressed); and spectrum disorders (which many chronically homeless people have).
Today, the biggest concern about substance use in the library relates to opiate drugs in general and fentanyl overdoses in particular. Many libraries have seen a dramatic increase in overdose symptoms among patrons. We’ll talk about the cyclical nature of alcohol abuse, marijuana toxicity symptoms, the “new methamphetamine,” and the medical and behavioral issues with opiates and fentanyl.
The function of this session is not to make staff into clinicians or pharmacologists but to help them see why some patrons behave and act out in certain ways that can be stressful to both parties. This knowledge can increase staff’s patience, empathy, understanding, listening skills, and situational control; and can help them create better boundaries and initiate better service.
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.)
