Join us at the Mid York Library System office to watch the webinar, “Security for Rural Librarians: Staying Safe at Work When Help is Far,” together!

Webinar Description:

If you define yourself as a Rural Librarian, see if these scenarios sound familiar:

• A man comes in and asks you for the time. You tell him and he nods and goes to sit at a nearby table, where he just stares at you for the next two hours…
• A female comes in and tells you she is living on the streets. She asks if she can use your restroom. She goes inside and locks the door. An hour later and she’s still in there…
• A group of local teenagers come into your library and start messing with your displays, rolling the books carts around, and making noise. You ask them to leave and they refuse…
• A man who is angry at the county comes into your library to ask you for legal advice. When you tell him you cannot give him that type of help, he takes a gun out of his backpack and places it on the counter.

If you work in a city or county library in an active neighborhood in a larger community, you would know how to address each of these by getting help from a co-worker, by asking a supervisor to speak to these people, by disengaging and doing your work at another part of the facility, or even by going into a back room and calling the police from a safe place. However, if you work in a rural library location – which can be defined as having a police or sheriff’s response that could be 20 minutes to an hour away, working alone in the building, or working in a one-room facility, with only one way in or out – these options aren’t always available.

This webinar is here to help.

This webinar program is for all library employees who work in rural areas, as well as the library leadership that supervises these facilities, especially from a distance.

Learning Objectives:

• Know how and when to use “high-risk customer service skills” with difficult or challenging patrons.
• Being firm, fair, consistent, reasonable, and assertive in your application of your Code of Conduct.
• Trusting your intuition when working alone. Should you stay or go?
• Setting up help systems: phone trees, code words, exit and evacuation plans.
• Improving your physical security: panic alarms, OC pepper spray, better door hardware, remote locking devices, safe rooms.
• The value of Security Incident Reports.
• How to get better results from your law enforcement agencies.

About the Presenter:

Dr. Steve Albrecht has trained library audiences for 19 years. In 2015, the ALA published his book, Library Security. He holds a doctoral degree in Business Administration, an MA in Security Management, a BS in Psychology, and a BA in English. He is board certified in HR, security, coaching, and threat management. He worked for the San Diego Police Department for 15 years. He has written 21 books on business, security, and criminal justice subjects.