Black belt librarians: dealing with challenging patrons

More pictures are on flickr.

2-3:15 PM, Meeting Room 2, Thursday, 5/7

Warren Graham is a security professional who works with "the reality impaired".

"How to walk up to a perfect stranger and tell them to knock it off while protecting your safety" is the main topic today.

His background is in the library in Charlotte, NC. The old building, which closed in the 90s, had all sorts of security problems, including childhood assault in the bathroom. Private security firms failed so the director hired Warren.

"If you do not deny access to people who are destroying the library you are denying patrons to your regular patrons.... Just because its a public library doesn't give you license to build a fire in the middle of the floor.... Don't let the inmates run the assylum, you have a right to a safe workplace.... You deserve to be treated as the professional you are. Its not right not to feel empowered not to tolerate abuse.... It's way past time in the library world to start making patrons more responsible for their behavior."

Solid and simple is better than over-intellectualized meetings full of pontifications that go nowhere. Thick security manuals that say nothing are useless. They should be lean and simple.

Everyone has to be trained properly.

Rules have to be enforced consistently by everyone.

Everyone has to be treated the same. The same consequences have to apply to everyone.

3 things that make a security program effective:

1. Must have simple, strait forward rules for library use.

Examples of stupid rules "no prostitution", "Causing intentional alarm by indecent exposure".

One rule every library should have: Any behavior that is disruptive to library use it not allowed. This rule can replace TONS of other rules.

Problem patrons are only 1-2% of library patrons but most of these hard line behavior problems only understand a hard line.

Administration has to back up staff. There are always exceptions but that should be rare.

2. Consistency is critical - between staff, branches, everywhere.

3. Always apply rules based upon BEHAVIOR not APPEARANCE.

Be careful with loose talk around the library. People listen and observe all the time. "These street people... these banking yuppies from hell.... these Satan's spawn... that little monkey on acid - one more time and that kid's out" DON'T SAY THESE THINGS!

How to tell someone NO:

1. Approach with a confident frame of mind.

Most people comply if you approach them correctly. Its not about confrontation its about communication. Its not policing, its advising patrons as to what's not allowed in the library. Relax when you go up to a patron. Too tense and you'll over-react. Give them the benefit of the doubt.

2. Start nice and you can get tougher if you have to. You can't come on too strong and then ease off.

Whenever approach someone for the first time, usually for something minor start "I don't you didn't see the sign, but............." or "I know you didn't know, but.....". This gives the patrons an out so they don't feel like an absolute idiot. Make sure they know you're giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Stop saying sorry. Just say "I know you didn't know". Apologizing opens the topic up to conversation and conflict.

Do not be a helicopter librarian. Tell them, thank them, then move on. Check back in a few minutes to make sure things are ok. Don't just stand there and hover.

3. When you approach people, exercise prudent caution.

Blend this together with confidence. Confidently cautious and cautiously confident. Whenever telling someone NO, keep any barrier you can between you and that patron. Don't even give up chairs, floor plants, desks, book carts, any barrier is good.

Don't forget about personal space. A stressed out, upset, or disturbed person is even more sensitive about personal space. Close enough to touch is too close. Never touch anyone except in self-defense.

If someone is sleeping and you need to check on them, go up, stay on the other side of the table ad ask if the patron is ok - express concern for their health. Don't assume they are hearing impaired just because they are asleep. You don't want to startle them and give them cause to explode. If they are still asleep, lightly tap the table - but be gentle, with a head on a table it will be amplified. If you still can't wake someone up, call 911.

WHENEVER you tell someone no, do not immediately turn your back. No matter how nice they have been, you don't want to put yourself in that vulnerable of a position. Appearances mean NOTHING when it comes to trouble. Be slick about walking away - look at your watch as you walk away to keep them in the corner of their eye, turn around and scan the room as if looking towards something else, be discrete and don't come off as obviously watching them, but don't let them out of your sight until you're safely away.

4. It doesn't matter if you're telling someone no or not, whenever you discover drunk or otherwise chemically incapacitated, they need to go. Smelling booze is not the same, its when they are obviously drunk or high that its time to call 911 and for that person to go.

Regardless of outside conditions, other patrons don't want incapacitated patrons around. No one is harmless when under the influence.

5. Everyone has to tell someone NO sooner or later. Someone is going to take exception. The experienced behavior problem knows that if they can upset you they can control you. Don't let them break your mental rhythm.

Tell someone no and only three things can happen:
a. they comply
b. they leave
c. they say no they won't comply and won't leave - and you have a plan for how to deal with this as well.

6. Never argue with a patron.

A lot of people are very good at pointless arguments. Don't engage. If they keep on trying to wear you down they are being disruptive and need to leave.

Sooner or later you will be accused of some sort of bias. Everyone can come in, but everyone has to follow the same rules. The person you're saying no to could be a victim of past bias. Most of the time, they just want to throw you off. Just treat everyone the same and stay on topic. Don't respond to accusations of bias.

Teen areas are GREAT. When you want to be a destination of choice for youth, remember:
most kids are good kids
most problems with kids are caused by STAFF fears, problems, and dislikes
even big kids are still kids with kid fears and insecurities. They don't want to let people know they are afraid and say silly things to hide this.

Actively manage the room - acknowledge teens, make sure they're doing ok. Be casual and relaxed. Some kids need extra warnings but all the same, disruptive behavior is not acceptable from anyone and adults have a right to use the library as well.

7. Never go outside with a behavior problem.

The front door is the limit. Once outside people feel emboldened to do things they wouldn't consider inside. Standing just outside the doorway is ok if you need to get a license plate number for example, but stay in the doorway. Stay cool and stand guard over yourself. Do not chase thieves out of the library.

8. Before you go and correct someone's behavior, make sure you have the right person.

There's an ocean of difference between suspicion and guilt. You have to be aware of something happening. Then just keep communicating with people in house, share suspicions, be PATIENT and sooner rather than later you'll figure out what's going on.

The single most important thing to take from this session:

Awareness is the best security tool. Ultimately your safety is in your own hands.

Practice 30/30/30. For the next 30 days stop every 30 minutes and look around for 30 seconds. This will heighten your intuition and help raise your guard.

No matter how small your community, if there's one village idiot, he WILL come to your library. Be prepared. Have a plan. Your security plan is just as important as your circulation procedures.

Warren's website: www.blackbeltlibrarians.com

Q&A:

When the alarm goes off on the security system, you must respond every time. Refine your guidelines so you know how to react when you catch someone. Theft of library materials is a serious matter. Treat it as such. Say: "When the alarm goes off I just need to check. Its probably our fault and we didn't deactivate something."

When the kids go outside they all stand in the foyer and block traffic into the library. Just open the front door and go out a few feet. Its best to go with someone or have someone watch you even then.

Booktalking 10 Ways

Donna Johns, librarian at Newton North High School, is reaching teens 'One Teen At a Time." There are many ways to make booktalks more exciting and Donna shared these ways with a large audience on Thursday morning at 9:30 am in Ballroom B.  Using PowerPoint, Donna used twenty slides and her own voice to give us an twenty-second booktalks.  Each booktalk focused on one image which created visual interest.  

Booktalking 10 Ways:

1. Keep It To Twenty Seconds
2. Scaffold for Different Kinds of Readers (non-fiction and magazine readers are readers, too!
   
3. Differentiate Instruction
   
4. Podcast It! (Gcast.com, etc.)
   
5. Blog It!
6. Create Master Booklists (using Library Thing or Shelfari)
7. Online Book Clubs and Discussions (Dear Reader, etc.)
8. Use Wikis (to build a collaborative community - PBWorks.com or WebPaint.com)
9. Build Book Trailers (throw some slides into imovie, add text and an audio track)
10. Enrich Your Displays (use great items such as a toast with books in it)

If you have questions for Donna, you can email her at mamasigs126@gmail.com

Donnas has two blogs: Looking for a Good Book? and Libraries4Teens.

To I-pods and Beyond.

This talk was presented by Joseph Wilk, who is a teen services librarian in the Carnegie library in Pittsburg.

To start he notes two important things for librarians to remember about teens. For teens music is social. To teens, music is loud.

He started with a video presentation interviews with teens.

Teens listen to music on electronic medium now. Mostly it’s on computers, I-Pods or MP3 players. The teens talked about when they listened to music. The answers were various, but they did say when they were traveling and when they were on the computer mostly.

Kids also seem to listen to a lot of different kinds of music everything from Cake to Wagner. A lot of the kids interviewed seem to have a variety of tastes. One girl even talked about getting music from her dad (who gets bootlegs). Music sources include friends, blogs, message boards, online stores, my space, social music, concerts, video games, and soundtracks to video games.


The teens described music as meaning everything from “A way to relax” to “A huge part of my life.”

Teens also take an active role in promoting or critiquing music by talking online and writing reviews on blogs and message boards.

Joseph gave a quick and easy overview of what an MP3 is. I’m not the most tech savvy person, but I did at least get the gist of what is involved.

The challenge for libraries is to build MP3 Collections. CD’s are on the way out, and libraries need to stay current to stay relevant.

Why have an MP3 collection? Teens are listening to MP3’s, they aren’t using CD’s. The format is on a steady down climb. Teens also own MP3 players, and no longer own CD players. They are also less expensive, averaging $10 for an album Vs $14 for a CD.
They don’t get damaged, and don’t need to be replaced. The music fits on the hard drive of a computer, instead of taking up shelf space. MP3’s don’t need to be processed, and don’t need to have things like stickers on them. You can get the newest music right away, not having to wait for shipping.

There are free creative commons licensed music from places like www.archive.org/details/netlables. This is an online resource where you can download free music which is not copy written, to use in any way you like.

Libraries get nervous about MP3’s because of many reasons:

Compatibility is a huge issue, as embedded security issues with copy written downloadable music that can make it difficult to use, and sometimes causes problems on certain kinds of players and computers. Also, Mac to PC use is problematic.

Services change all the time. What is used now, subscription-based service may be obsolete very soon.

Libraries want to know how to pay for these services? How do we catalog this information? We almost have to invent a whole new way to catalog these files.

Will we have the ability to let patrons access MP3s? Can they get them in multiple points in a library? Can they get them in all branches?

Copyright law is tricky as well. Section 109 doesn’t apply. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act also prevents many libraries from using MP3’s.

I-Tunes are a great solution to many of these problems. It offers a flexible purchase options, flexible terms of sale, and a great selection of music.

When a library starts using I-Pods in your library, you want to have a waiver. This covers a lot of legal issues and protects the library.

He also took us through the visuals of the I-tunes webpage. Even for libraries that aren’t using I-Tunes, you can use it to preview music and get familiar with what the teens at your library are listening to.

This is the one section of the presentation that really peeked my interest. I joke that if you’re listening to patrons talk and you don’t know any of the bands, you’re old. If that’s true, I need a rocking chair and knitting needles. This seems like a great idea to hear what teens are listening too, and maybe get out of the habit of listening only to your own kind of music.

Social Digital Music

Teens want to find new music and share it. They bond over music. There is a copyright pitfall though, the digital performance rights in sound recording act of 1995. This is something a library has to be familiar with.

Some sources of online music include:

Last.fm (The social music revolution). It matches what you have in your I-Pod to other music that might appeal to you, and social networking functions based on your choices.
It provided the listener with information about what is actually being listened to by users. Joseph took us through a very detailed examination of the last.fm page, to show us how to use it, and what it can do.

MOG is another, which calls itself “My Space for Music Lovers” That is mostly a social networking and blogging about music. They have celebrity musicians that write blogs and recommend music. Mog-O-Matic will index music and keeps track of what you play.
They also allow you to use music on your blog as a sort of soundtrack.

There are others, doing some research around will lead you to some. Or you can e-mail Joseph and ask for recommendations or his great handouts on the subject at wilkj@carnegielibrary.org.

(Thanks for the e-mail correction Joseph!)

-Sarah "The Dyslexic Libararian" Hodge-Wetherbe, Springfield Public Library

Get Your Game On: Gaming at Libraries.

Beth Gallaway’s earned her reputation as one of the most experienced speakers on video game culture. She presented this workshop about how to use games to bring in patrons and enrich both the gamer and the library.

Why should libraries use games?

Well, games provide fun. They tie in with literature, storytelling, learning, and many other advantages to players.

Beth used the example of .hack// is not only a game, but a manga and anime. Each format feeds into each other and enhances each other.

“Gaming is the Medium of choice for the millennial generation” Beth says. Gaming is the medium of choice for information and entertainment.

Some surprising facts back this up. The average age of the gamer is 33 years old, 24% of people over 50. 38% of gamers are females.

I was surprised to learn girls like games with no story, while boys generally like games with a story. I’ve always liked story games, and with the popularity of the Final Fantasy games among women I had assumed otherwise.

Games in libraries provide many things kids need to develop, including social skills and physical skills.

Games help promote literacy in surprising ways. People read in games in many ways.

They use environmental print by reading signs, labels, and maps. They are reading about the game. Gamers are also writing about the game: They’re talking about it on forums and websites.

Gamers are creative: They use fan fiction to tell new stories in the game world. They use the game to create movies made from video games. Librarians can use this to guide them in the technology and the ethics of how to do these things.

For folks worried about copyright, many game creators give limited permission for fans to create fan works based on their game.

But what about violence in games? Turns out a lot of this problem is really blown up by media outlets looking to make a story. 15% of games in 2006 were rated M for mature, but they got 85% of the press about video games.

Librarians can use games in libraries in many ways:

Connecting games with traditional material.

Helping them get to strategies about games.

Research game culture

Collect game materials

Run game events

Play games yourself.

Librarians can ask gamers about movies, TV, and games they like to help them connect with new material.

You can make displays based on thinking like a gamer. “If you like this game, you might like this book.”

She promotes “Fail Early, Fail Often.” Try many things to work with gamers, and learn from failures.

Gamers don’t generally like “Bosses”.

Show, don’t tell

Make it interactive

Have a free for all.

Ask for a demo of expertise.

Gamer Culture supports the idea of help in the place that they need and only then.

Librarians can experience some of the creativity of gamers by looking at creative game material. Online films like “Red Vs. Blue” or web comics like “Penny Arcade” are great example of creative game culture.

She says the easiest thing for a library can do is allow patrons to play games online. There are ways to address some of the issues that come up, like having “Game time” that wont bother patrons trying to study, etc.

She advocates gaming events, but there is some footwork to do a successful program. Research the games you want to use. Provide variety of games, and don’t be afraid to run multiple games at once. Spread the word, and use resources not used traditionally by libraries. Use game store, comic stores, anime clubs, etc. Use community connections, by getting the word out at schools, boys and girls clubs, etc. Best of all, she advocates playing as well. It breaks the ice and it also shows the kids there that you are more than just the person behind the desk saying hush.

She also suggests using multiplayer games for events, with short rounds so the turn over is high and everyone gets a turn. Pick a rated E or T game, and if you want to do a M game, have permission slips. Use things that are easy to learn, but challenging to master. This is so kids don’t get frustrated, but also are challenged. You’ll want to find games that appeal to a wide audience. This can allow libraries to bring in new patrons, and they will be able to help you choose games for the collection if you decide to start one.

She also advocates strongly to involve the gaming community in any choices the library makes in creating a gaming culture. They will help libraries decide what format to buy, what consoles to buy games for, what age ratings to buy for, and what genres to choose. They will also help put a policy for the check out of games, and make these policies gamer friendly and attractive to folks who will come to check out games.

Beth also talks about libraries having gaming culture material other than games in collections, like strategy guides and magazines about gaming. Libraries also have to consider space, theft, and time to develop a gaming collections. By creating a place for gamers, they tend to respect the libraries material and help take care of them.

“We have to stop being format snobs” Beth notes. It’s a grand idea to end on, as games are starting to have the same recognition as graphic novels and anime as worthy storytelling formats.

Beth also mentioned several books about gamers like “The Kids are Alright” by John C. Beck and “Grand Theft Childhood” by Lawrence Kutner. Having read both of these, they are excellent sources for facts about games, and how much research supports the idea that games are healthy and creative, which doesn’t really hit the mainstream media.

Beth Gallaway’s website can be found at http://informationgoddess.info/

-Sarah “The Dyslexic Librarian” Hodge-Wetherbe, Springfield City Library

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Liberating the reading habits of children

Speakers:
Roger Sutton, editor an-in-chief, The Horn Book Magazine and The Horn Book Guide
Maggie Bush, Children’s literature Professor at Simmons College

History of access to reading for children
ALA and state library associations have protected the reading rights of children
1967 – “age” was included into the Bill of Rights
Parents and only parents may restrict their own children’s reading access
With these additions we strengthen the responsibilities of parents in what their children read

The problem:
Who are we as librarians responsible for serving?
The parents or the children

Scenario:
Janey want to read Harry Potter books
Her parents believe these books are manuals for satanic rituals
What is our responsibility in this situation?

Maggie Bush’s answer
We must advocate for the child first and foremost
Then address the parent’s concerns

One important point mentioned was that librarians need to offer any books that children may need. These may be controversial but necessary. Some librarians have made these books available without the children needing to actually check the books out. This may be in the form of a specific shelf or box in a private area.

A plug for Nancy Garden's talk

At breakfast in the Exhibit Hall this morning I met Nancy Garden, who is giving a presentation this afternoon at 3:15 on "From There to Here: Gay and Lesbian Kids' Books In Transition."

We had an interesting talk about kids, and bullying, and how literature can connect with all this, and she knows a lot and was very thoughtful.

See her 2006 book, Endgame, about a kid who is bullied and what results. I plan to read it.

She also mentioned two other books to me:

The Misfits, by James Howe
The Revealers, by Doug Wilhelm

I can't go hear her speak, because I need to attend the session on library website makeovers, but based on our conversation, I'm sure she'll be great! I hope someone else blogs it for me.

Social Networking: MySpace and Beyond, Linda Braun

The room was so full they ran out of handouts (Linda’s a great presenter, so I’m not surprised). Her presentation talked about online social networking in general, with a focus on MySpace—its uses, and concerns about its use.

All her links are can be found at
http://del.icio.us/mla_social

She started by using Justin.tv as an example of social networking; while you are *watching* Justin you can *talk* about Justin!

Linda surveyed her vast crowd:
Most have used social networking online
Only a few have participated regularly in a social network
A dozen or so of us have MySpace accounts; a few libraries have accounts (generally to reach teens)

What exactly IS social networking? Legislation to block it from schools and public libraries often doesn’t define it, but it can encompass a wide variety of online spaces: from amazon.com, to twitter, to blogs, RSS, YouTube, MySpace

Social networking characteristics: a site requiring registration, communication, making connections online.

“Making choices” is the key to using social networking; we need to help teens and other patrons with this. I.e., the issue is not the scary stuff, but how we manage the scary stuff. Adults are worried about safety; kids tell us about how they safeguard their personal information.

Instead of having a workshop on keeping kids safe, Linda suggested having a presentation where TEENS demonstrate how they use MySpace and how they keep themselves safe. Even if kids don’t know how to stay safe, they *think* they do. Better to empower kids in this process.

Linda suggested four recent books on the topic to look at (I’ll be requesting that our library order the three we don’t have):

MySpace Unraveled: What it is and how to use it safely. Larry Magid,Anne Collier

Cyber-Safe Kids, Cyber-Savvy Teens. Helping Young People Learn To Use the Internet Safely and Responsibly. Nancy E. Willard

Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenge of Online Social Aggression, Threats, and Distress. Nancy E. Willard

Totally Wired: What Teens and Tweens Are Really Doing Online. Anastasia Goodstein


MySpace pages can be customized (and changed, depending on mood, etc.)—this gives teenagers the chance to explore and let other people know what they’re up to (videos watched, recent music listened to, etc.).

You can vary the amount of information you provide: birthday, occupation, marital status, etc. Not all this information has to be included.

Friends in MySpace are like any others: a window to who you are. You can refuse to accept people as friends, make people special friends, only allow comments if you approve them first. You can keep up with friends by seeing what has been changed on their MySpace page. Bulletins—things friends have added—are a way a library with a MySpace page could keep in touch with customers, advertise events, etc. (My son uses his MySpace page primarily as a way to get bulletins from bands he likes.)

Non-members can view, but not “friend” people, or make comments.

Ads appear at the top of a MySpace page—research shows that teenagers don’t notice ads.
But this could be a problem for trustees if a library has a page.
How will the library select friends if they have a MySpace page?

Linda showed us the Hennepin County Library MySpace page, which is used as their website for teens—teens can search the catalog from the MySpace page—they get a large number of hits per day via MySpace. It provides an interactive place to find out about the library—information on new cds in the library, etc.

It’s a good idea for libraries to have MySpace and Facebook pages; maybe we don’t need a YA page on the library website at all. Facebook and MySpace pages can be connected.

Teenagers are more likely to connect via IM, or MySpace, rather than email.

Students going to college can connect with students already there before they go.

The biggest danger is the sense of invisibility; kids need to know they are NOT invisible on the web, and if parents can find them, other people can, too. (I know my son was surprised at how quickly I could find him, and his friends.)

There are many similar sites in addition to MySpace and Facebook, e.g. Eldersvoice, social networking for seniors.

Ways to track DOPA (Deleting Online Predators Act) legistlation:
DOPAwatch
http://www.opencongress.org/

Millenials suggest ways to improve libraries

Since my fellow bloggers have already done a nice job of describing 'Meet the Millennials' with Stephen Abram, I thought I'd just share the teens' responses to the last question from the audience. That question was "What can we do for you?"

Some of their ideas:

• Expand collections for a wider selection of books for their age range
• Have more digital e-books (not audio books, but digital texts)
• More interaction with people in libraries; less focus on technology
  
• Brighter colors, more attractive and vibrant-looking facilities
• Designated spaces for teens to hang out

And finally, the most popular suggestion: get rid of overdue fines, and instead move to a system where you can only borrow a book after you return the book you have.

Every single panel member was incredibly poised and well-spoken. If you're reading, panelists, thank you!

Meet the Millenials (facilitated by Stephen Abram)

Besides the inexplicable fact that these 12-17 year-olds are listening to the very same bands that my peers were listening to when we were in high school (Bon Jovi, Pink Floyd, Queen, etc.) it was great to hear exactly what they think of libraries and life in general.

If you work with teens, or if you don't, you need to spend time listening to kids their age. There are too many stereotypes about teens being the troubled group in our libraries, but when you ask them questions about their lives in general, they are articulate, clear, and know exactly what they want.

When this particular group of teens answered that most of them did NOT have myspace or facebook accounts, people were surprised, and Stephen mentioned that he is used to working with older teens, assuming that it is an age difference. However, when I was in library school a few years ago, I recall this same issue coming up and believing that there is a big difference between the "normal" mainstream image of a teen in urban settings and the teens who live in small towns and rural environments.

Living in southern VT and working in western MA, I see a huge difference in both the interests of teens and the access they have to information and trends. They tend to be far behind their urban counterparts. This is not a bad thing, but it means that we all need to pay attention to our own communities, rather than assuming that all teens are alike, that they all want exactly the same thing, that they all listen to the same music, watch the same movies, wear the same clothes or read the same books. Thanks to big business and the corporatization of America, there certainly is the tendency for that to happen, but the information reaches different communities at different times, and that affects how the people who live there see the world.

Just think - one teen in this session said the closest Barnes & Noble is an hour's drive from his house. I'll bet his public library is closer.

But my favorite quote from one of the teens was (in talking about doing research for school projects) "...Books help because you can’t publish a book with false information."