![]() Our incidents are thankfully few and far between, thus there is no justification or budget to hire security. While urban problems are often more severe, in our circumstance, our police station is 20 miles away and we operate with few neighbors and an all female staff. Having worked in city libraries where police are local and security guards are on staff, I know that not all are in the same position as we are. It has also prompted me to spend a great deal more time considering our limited protective options. The situation did however, prompt us to review all our security measures and posting of emergency phone numbers. An ominous request.Īll in all, while the incident was unsettling and made the library’s staff nervous, our growler did not and has not actually violated any library or town policy or law. We received the generally unhelpful advice to ‘keep an eye on him’ and intercede if he approached children. He is a juvenile, so information is limited, as is our recourse. In this case, we learned that our growler was visiting neighbor libraries and did have a criminal history. Despite our very sketchy physical description, the police knew the individual instantly. We reported the incident to our local police, noting we were doing so, only because it was odd. Thankfully, our growler soon left both the restroom and the building. ![]() Still, this response to simple questions, “are you alright?” was shockingly chilling. A growl hardly seemed justification to call the police no law was being challenged nor even library policy. Each successive growl was more fierce sounding then the one’s before it. The difference in this case, was when after thirty minutes passed and I went to knock and inquire on his wellness, he growled at me. This alone would be a little odd, but not notable. A young male patron locked himself in our public rest room. ![]() In the past month, however, I had a new experience. While I do not enjoy this aspect of our work, it rarely bothers me. I’ve cajoled and threatened to get the unruly patron to behave appropriately or leave. I’ve been yelled at and called names by young men, angry at whatever rule I was trying to enforce. We have had those disengaged from the reality around them. We have had the disgruntled patron who bellows about the perceived injustice. Although we have had some significant incidents, such as the elderly gentlemen who drove his car six feet into our building, these are infrequent and we are thankful that we do not often experiences the challenges that some of our more urban colleagues face daily. ![]() This idyllic image is frequently presumed about my library as we are relatively small and rural. We have all experienced the public’s perception that libraries are quiet peaceful places, in which staff merely sit around and read. ![]()
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