Finkelstein Memorial Library staff attends a Security Workshop:

Ensuring a Safe, Secure and Welcoming Environment for the public

At the Finkelstein Memorial Library, our mission has always been to help all the people of our community obtain information to meet their personal, educational, cultural and professional needs.

But how do you balance the library’s need to be an open, welcoming and freely accessible community and information center against the need to secure and protect the public and the public’s assets (books, DVDs, computers, etc.)?

Library staff recently attended the Black Belt Librarians: Security that Works! workshop at the library presented by Warren Graham, nationally renowned expert on day-to-day library security procedures.

If there's a single golden rule, Graham said, it's to “never think about confronting a person. It's all about communication."

During the workshop Graham talked about some of the essential elements of a secure library including:

* You must have established rules and regulations for library use.
* When advising patrons of the rules you must always go by their behavior and never by their appearance.
* You must be consistent in enforcement.
* You can control your environment through your constant awareness of your surroundings.
* You can learn to recognize a person's emotional state: calm, anxious, belligerent or out-of-control.
* You need to document all security incidents within 24 hours.
* You must periodically review your procedures because your vulnerabilities may change.
* You must have employee accountability and consequences if proper safety procedures are not followed.
* You need to develop a security checklist to be used on a regular basis.

Graham demonstrated the various elements through active role-playing and real-life examples. This was an instructive and informative workshop for all.

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