safety and security Archives | Page 2 of 3 | American Libraries Magazine

ALA and AASL Release Joint Statement on Florida Senate Bill 7026

March 8, 2018

“ALA and AASL support the efforts of Florida Association for Media in Education (FAME) and Florida Library Association to provide safe and accessible learning spaces for students and learners of all ages,” stated Neal and Yates. “School librarians work with classroom teachers to provide instruction integral to the curriculum and offer additional informal learning opportunities for students. School … Continue reading ALA and AASL Release Joint Statement on Florida Senate Bill 7026 →

Legal Issues

By Terra Dankowski | February 11, 2018

These were some of the questions addressed at the “Legal Issues in Public Libraries Forum” at the American Library Association’s 2018 Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits on Sunday. The session, sponsored by the Public Library Association, brought together lawyers and librarians for a frank, casual conversation on some of the most contentious issues popping up at … Continue reading Legal Issues →

City of Clovis (N.Mex.) Police Chief Douglas Ford speaks at a news conference August 28 regarding the shooting at Clovis-Carver Public Library that killed two librarians and injured four others. (Image: Reuters)

Gunman Opens Fire in New Mexico Library

By Phil Morehart | August 29, 2017

Updated August 30, 7:17 a.m. The gunman entered the library at approximately 4 p.m. and began shooting. According to news reports, police arrived at the library only minutes later and took the suspect into custody without force. The names of the victims have not been released, but Eastern New Mexico News has identified the two killed as … Continue reading Gunman Opens Fire in New Mexico Library →

Saving Lives in the Stacks

By Anne Ford | June 21, 2017

“As this nation’s opioid crisis has exploded, the staff at the public library … have become first responders,” NPR’s Scott Simon told listeners. “And I gather the librarians there have been obliged to become involved in a way that—well, become involved in a way librarians aren’t usually asked to become involved.” What Simon didn’t say—but … Continue reading Saving Lives in the Stacks →

New Trends in Library Security

By Steve Albrecht | June 1, 2017

Library directors and staffers in all parts of the country and in all types of libraries continue to be concerned about challenging patrons who sometimes adversely affect library services, including people who are homeless, have a mental illness, or abuse substances. But what follows are real experiences seen firsthand or recounted by library employees—security concerns that … Continue reading New Trends in Library Security →

A Self-Service Experiment

By Clifford Ibarrondo | November 1, 2016

As libraries face cloudy funding forecasts and stagnant budgets, innovation and creativity become driving forces to increase a community’s access to library materials, programs, and services. With uncertainty comes an opportunity to reinvent and find new ways to serve a growing population of patrons. Gwinnett County (Ga.) Public Library (GCPL) used that opportunity to partner … Continue reading A Self-Service Experiment →

Garrett Scott (left), an antiquarian bookseller in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Edwin C. Schroeder, director of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, presented their recommendations on preventing and uncovering theft in libraries.

Security, Inventory, and Provenance

By George M. Eberhart | August 17, 2016

Michael Zubal, a manager of Zubal Books in Cleveland, Ohio, related two instances when his store was involved with stolen books. The first took place in 1995 when he purchased a first edition of Tarzan and the Lost Empire (1929) by Edgar Rice Burroughs from an individual who came into the store. Shortly afterwards he … Continue reading Security, Inventory, and Provenance →

Dewey Decibel Podcast: Library Security

May 23, 2016

In Episode Two, we bring you conversations on library security. It’s not an easy topic to talk about, but it is an essential one. We welcome three people from the library world who work to help us understand how to handle safety issues—both large-scale, harrowing encounters and smaller but still disconcerting events—in our buildings and … Continue reading Dewey Decibel Podcast: Library Security →

Safe and Sound

By Joseph Janes | March 1, 2016

I had the opportunity to indulge a while ago. My former doctoral student Elisabeth Jones invited me to come and be part of a session she was doing with her first-quarter graduate students on the future of libraries. They had done some initial readings, and naturally had their own ideas, many of which brought them … Continue reading Safe and Sound →

A few of the 75 Civil War–era photographs that were taken from Bangor (Maine) Public Library and later recovered. These images, along with 50 original World War I– and World War II–era posters that were stolen, had an estimated value of $31,000. The image of the officer leaning over his chair helped identify the set as belonging to the library.

Thwarting Book Thieves

By Megan Cottrell | September 16, 2015

What Graves didn’t know was that by the time he brought them to the dealer, the owner had already seen the items at the library a few weeks earlier. “I had been talking about them to the owner while he was visiting our special collections area,” says special collections librarian Bill Cook of Bangor (Maine) … Continue reading Thwarting Book Thieves →

Better Communication, Safer Facilities

By Steve Albrecht | September 14, 2015

Safety and security are everyone’s jobs. This includes the library director, every department head, every supervisor, all full- and part-time employees, library board members, Friends of the library members, elected officials, and even patrons—who can and should tell us about safety or security concerns when using our branches. Safety and security themes Facility safety and … Continue reading Better Communication, Safer Facilities →

Scott County (Ky.) conducted a simulation of an active shooter event in their library, producing a video. (Photo: Georgetown [Ky.] Police Department)

Libraries Invest in Active Shooter Training

By Kathleen Moeller-Peiffer | June 8, 2015

If guards are on duty at a library, they are typically not armed. In small communities, only one staff member may be working in the space. This is why, in addition to fire drills and emergency planning, libraries are beginning to offer training to react to an active shooter. As defined by the Department of … Continue reading Libraries Invest in Active Shooter Training →

Latest Library Links

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The clock and calendar regulate many library activities, but the seasonal and temporal dimensions of libraries are largely unexplored. Intrigued by observations of colleagues’ temporal attitudes and behavior, Lora L. Lennertz and Phillip J. Jones at the University of Arkansas drew on the work of sociologist Eviatar Zerubavel to investigate the perceptions of time, schedules, and urgency among professional library personnel. The data showed almost no statistically significant relationships between demographic categories and the employee’s approach to time; however, multiple significant relationships existed between the latter and the employee’s department.
College and Research Libraries 81, no. 4 (May): 701-720
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On May 28, Ithaka S+R launched a study in collaboration with 11 research libraries to explore the impact of Big Deal cancellations on users, strategies for accessing content, and perceptions of the library’s role in providing access. The pandemic is intensifying budgetary challenges that were already leading many academic libraries to consider canceling Big Deal packages. Due to this challenging financial context it is increasingly unlikely that these packages will be replaced with alternative plans, such as Transformative Agreements, that ensure continuing access to the full suite of titles previously available. The project seeks to understand the long-term effects of cancellation on researchers.
Ithaka S+R, May 28
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On May 27, the James Beard Foundation announced its Media Awards winners for 2020. An online announcement replaced the usual New York City ceremony, originally scheduled for earlier this month. The awards honor the country’s best food authors, broadcast producers, hosts, and journalists. We’ve spent the majority of the past few months indoors, and turning to the kitchen not just for nourishment, but for a bit of an escape: getting lost in a new recipe, embarking on an ambitious project, or finding comfort in an old favorite. The winning books span a variety of topics, from vegetable-forward cookbooks to a “climate memoir.” All are worth adding to your must-read (and cook) list.
Food52, May 28
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Leighann Wood writes: “PLA, with its network of public libraries and library advocates, recognizes that health insurance and health literacy are priorities that allow individuals and families to navigate the broader health system to obtain needed care and avoid unexpected costs. Fears about health care (or lack of) during the coronavirus pandemic are raising the profile of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which can help those who have lost their jobs with an option to get health insurance. As of May 14, an estimated 16.2 million workers have likely lost employer-provided health insurance since the crisis unfolded.”
AL: The Scoop, May 29
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Podcasts are now unsurpassed in their ability to encourage thinking, compared to other internet media. Of course, much of the competition—listicles, cat videos, TikToks—may not seem especially strong, but podcasting’s combination of the oft-praised intimacy of radio and freedom from the temporal or demographic limitations of traditional broadcast media has proven unexpectedly potent. In fact, humanity’s craving for podcasts is such that, for more than a decade now, there have been too many to choose from. To help guide you through this embarrassment of audio riches, Open Culture has put together this list of the 140 best podcasts to enrich your mind.
Open Culture, May 25
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Mirela Roncevic writes: “The Frankfurt Book Fair 2020 will take place October 14–18. A decision to that effect was made May 28 by the supervisory board of BBG, the German Publishers and Booksellers Association. The 72nd Frankfurter Buchmesse will take place on the fairgrounds in accordance with a detailed health and hygiene plan which will reflect the regulations mandated this autumn by the State of Hesse. Visitors will be admitted contactless after they have preregistered and provided a self-assessment of their state of health. Because of the pandemic, the fair will be a special edition: an onsite program combined with a forward-looking digital offering.”
No Shelf Required, May 28
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Marc E. Fitch writes: “My parents often ask me, ‘Why horror? Why can’t you write nice things?’ To which I generally reply, ‘Have you read the newspaper lately?’ Because there is nothing in the world of fiction that compares to the daily atrocities humanity inflicts upon itself, or to the seemingly chaotic and certainly uncaring universe that wields an ugly axe of natural disaster, disease, and death. Horror fiction tends to veil true horror in a guise of metaphor. Noir fiction plots its way through corruption, politics, and murder. Literary fiction, while often embracing a wider range of human emotion and experience, is built on a foundation of suffering, despair, and the prospect of each individual’s approaching death.”
CrimeReads, May 28

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