The then Library Director, Robert Cannon, called me up
one afternoon during my duties as Security Manager for an uptown mall that
was situated right across the street from the main library. The library
was closed temporarily, being refurbished and expanded from 60,000 to 160,000
square feet. He asked me how I went about controlling the many center city
and potential problems in my facility. He then quickly stole me away. Two
weeks later, I was working for the library, only one short month before
its grand re-opening.
I quickly saw that we were going to have our hands full.
The late Nina Lyon, one of the finest overall librarians I have ever known
and the then manager of the main library building took me on a tour and
laid out the situation. She told me that in the old building she had to
handle multiple security situations every single day. There had been no
formal rules for library use and no consistency in the attempts to control
behavior. They had gone through several contract security companies that
had all categorically failed. There was no standardized record keeping
and most of the daily "patrons" were not using the building as
a library, but as a home.
While a few of the staff thought we should never ban or deny access to
anyone no matter what they did, I countered by saying that they would be
denying access to the regular, true library user if they didn’t control
the environment and keep it conducive to library use. Yes, it is indeed
a public building, but what type? Well, it’s a bloody library, and
it should look and feel like one. It’s not a place for people to come
in and do anything they want. Just because we are a "public building"
doesn’t mean you can build a camp fire in the middle of non-fiction.
We were successful in our security efforts thanks to my development of
a solid, simple program and procedures. We involved all of the employees
and trained them properly. We were more than fair in the advisement of
rules and most importantly, from day one, we made sure that we treated
everyone the same.
Let me state here that despite the success, I do not consider myself a
security "expert," even though a lot of folks refer to me that
way. Actually, I don’t believe there is any such thing, and I will
explain.
My reason is two fold. First, there is no way you can keep up with the
physical security field, i.e. alarm systems, cameras, building access systems,
and the like unless you actually work in that specific industry. Technology
is growing so fast that new products are constantly being produced and
the security products that are available to you today are really already
dated.
Secondly, no two security situations are quite alike. Human interaction
is always dynamic and never static. It’s always in flux. Rarely is
there a black and white solution to an incident; it’s almost always
grey. Even though I’ve been doing this for quite a while, I still
make mistakes and find challenges in ascertaining what is really going
on and picking the best response I can. I can still certainly be taken
aback by the mental state of some of our "reality impaired" patrons.
Some days I feel as though all I do is try to keep the patients calm!
The one advantage that I do have in my attempts to help you over most others
in the security field is that I do indeed work on the front line in a library.
Within the library system in Charlotte there are a total of 24 libraries
and they are of all shapes and sizes in all types of areas. Their staffing
varies from very large to others that at times have a single librarian
minding the store. In most cases, the library staff also wear the security
hats along with their other duties. The point I am trying to make here
is that I know exactly what a librarian goes through. I witness it first
hand everyday.
I wish I could have had the information that I am going to share with you
when I first started working with the public when I was very young. Even
though I would deal with the public for ten years in retail before I stumbled
into the security field, many of the principles I work by today would have
readily applied, and I would now have more hair.
As you may have guessed from the title of the book, I will speak of how
martial art has influenced my perspective in interacting with the problem
patron. Don’t jump to the conclusion that I am talking about physical
encounters and that my mentioning of my experience in martial ways implies
that I think I am some sort of tough guy. It’s the mental aspect of
that discipline that I want you to consider, as you will see.
I’m going to share with you the basis of everything I know about dealing
with all levels and all kinds of people in various security situations.
You will find that I am rather straight forward and down right blunt at
times. I call this, after all, a "real world" guide. I prefer
to tell it to you the way it really is versus what you may want to hear.
I relate the stories as they happened; colorful, earthy language and all.
As I’m sure you can already tell, I’m certainly not a professional
writer, so I hope you will bear that in mind. I hope the usefulness of
the content makes up for my tortured syntax and overall punishment of the
English language.
The information contained within is simple. There is a great strength in
simplicity, but our oh, so magnificent intellect convinces us that the
best solutions are the most complicated, and we sometimes end up out thinking
ourselves. Einstein once said that when you can’t find a solution
to a problem, you need to go back to the basics! I’m reminded of that
popular expression these days that tells everyone to "think outside
the box," but that presupposes that one can think inside the box to
start with!
However, simple does not always mean easy. These tactics that I’m
providing you take practice, especially if you are passive by nature, which
most (but certainly not all) librarians are. I don’t mean that in
a demeaning way. We are all born passive (as I was) or aggressive by our
very nature and we tend to follow that genetic predisposition throughout
our lives. I’m going to help you to be more assertive if you need
to be.
I believe that you have to have a certain level of people skills to be
able to keep your sanity when working with the public. Not all patrons
are pleasant to deal with, but the bad patrons are still patrons nonetheless.
Every day at the reference desk is not going to be full of moonlight and
canoe rides. I am sorry that they failed to teach you in library school
that all the nuts aren’t in the nuthouse. Some of the librarians I’ve
worked with don’t even like the public and I have often wondered why
in the world they ever became involved in a profession that demands helping
people!
The whole idea, and my fervent wish in producing this text, is to empower
you to be able to respond to a situation rather than simply react. Animals
react, people should respond. However, since we humans are creatures of
emotion and not logic, we often do something and then think about it rather
than the opposite. I’m going to show you a way to put a plan of action
in place, then you can take the first step in controlling your environment.
You are a professional librarian. You go the extra mile for the patrons
and want them to get the information they are seeking. In turn, you only
ask that they treat you in a civil manner and not abuse you. I think that
is quite fair enough.
There have been a many a librarian that has corresponded with me after
my presentation, testifying to the effectiveness of my little strategies.
Trust me, being a passive, introverted, emotive soul that I tend to be;
if I acquired these skills, anyone can.