In this week’s Princh Library Blog post, guest writer Sam L. Bowman discusses the different methods libraries can use to assess risks at their locations, how they can approach creating plans to deal with the identified risks, and, finally, how they can communicate the risks towards their patrons. Enjoy!

Libraries are among the most valuable resources any community has. They democratize access to information, support literacy, and strengthen neighbors’ connections to one another, among many other benefits. This is why it remains important for a community to invest in its libraries. Yet, for all the positive elements libraries have to offer, these spaces can still present risks.

Library management and staff must adopt methods of auditing for safety, find solutions to issues, and help keep these vital organizations both functional and healthy.

Assessing Risks

A library’s risk profile is relatively unique because they tend to have diverse collections of objects that aren’t typical of many public spaces, plus their own layout, clientele base, and geographical challenges. Therefore, the key to safety is to conduct regular risk assessments that give current data on which to base mitigation efforts.

Walkthroughs

The simplest forms of risk assessment will be walkthroughs by staff members. This involves going through every part of the library to make note of the most obvious risks to both patrons and staff, such as identifying bookshelves that are in danger of falling.

Information technology (IT) staff should regularly assess what the current cybercrime risks are for the library’s on-site and online networks. For instance, if library accounts are currently being targeted by phishing scams or how long it’s been since the public wifi security has been updated.

Consultants

Unless your staff are experienced risk assessors, there’s only a certain amount of risks they’ll be able to spot. Once a year, you can collaborate with risk assessment consultants who have experience specifically working with libraries and public buildings. Wherever possible, ensure your consultants focus on the risk categories the Sharjah International Library Conference highlighted in its 2020 forum, which include:

• Natural risks: This includes risk of flooding if the library is near to a lake or severe weather events common to the location.
• Human-caused risks: Most often, this is risks associated with users being careless with library materials. However, in larger cities, it may be that your library could be affected by civil unrest.
• Security risks: For instance, violence against library employees by patrons or systems being attacked by malware.

Staff feedback

Your staff will have unique insights into the risks they face every day as workers in your library environment. This isn’t just the physical aspects, either. There can be elements of work that impact mental wellness, such as triggers of stress and depression that influence not just productivity but also safety. They may also highlight gaps in support that contribute to risks of burnout that can impact both their psychological and physical well-being.

Remember too that library staff provide support every day to patrons that may be going through a range of personal emergencies and difficulties. As a result, your staff may be experiencing mental strain due to their excessive emotional labor. One study published in Library & Information Science Research — A study of emotional labor in librarianship — found that this can put librarians at risk of burnout. Regular check-ins with staff, through in-person or anonymous surveys, can gather information to create a more functional, positive, and ultimately healthy environment.

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Creating Clear Plans

Once you have a sense of the risks in your library, it’s important to address these with clear plans.

Daily mitigation

It’s worth creating a checklist of common hazards to look for and address at the start of each day. This might include making certain all entryways are clear of hazards. Checking for signs of spillages in the reading rooms or leaks in the bathroom areas is also useful. Wherever possible, ensure that these daily risk mitigation plans follow a logical order. For instance, the items to check can be listed in an order that takes staff on a route through the premises.

Emergency response

Your risk assessment process should have identified the types of emergencies your library is likely to be subject to. Alongside common medical emergencies for staff and patrons, this may involve natural disasters or weather events that are common to the library’s location.

You’ll need to make clear response plans for each type of emergency. This includes evacuation routes and procedures for responding to fire in each area of the library. It might highlight who the designated first aid personnel are for medical emergencies, how to contact them, and how to support patrons as they navigate these traumatic incidents. Even detailing safe areas for shelter in the event of tornadoes or earthquakes is important.

Communicating Hazards and Solutions

It’s not enough to assess issues and make plans. Risk mitigation for libraries tends to be effective when these are also communicated clearly to all stakeholders.

This starts with a culture of open communication within your organization. Make sure you consider various forms of communication. Encourage lateral communication in which team members share information with one another about risks, even between departments. The downward communication process of informing workers about risks and responsibilities must also be a two-way system where they feel comfortable responding and raising potential issues.

Communicating hazards and solutions can be enhanced by training, too. You could host workshops focusing on specific types of risks—from how accumulated paper presents fire hazards to assisting those with mobility challenges during an emergency in an empowering way. This can be augmented with regular drills for the most common types of disasters.

It’s also vital to keep library patrons informed about the risks they may face in the library and how to react, through forms such as clear signage. Log-in screens of computers can also alert users to potential issues such as phishing scams and how to respond to these.

Conclusion

Auditing libraries for risk factors and addressing these helps to keep them valued parts of the community. This requires a commitment to collaboration and vigilance from managers and regular staff members alike. It’s important to remember that safety risks can change on a regular basis. Therefore, actively seeking feedback on new hazards and concerns from the community and staff enables your library to adapt to evolving dangers.

We will be back with another interesting article from the library world soon!

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