Beyond the books
Libraries deal with safety, deliver social service help
One woman ended up in the hospital after a transient man punched her in the head. Another was pepper-sprayed as she fought off her young son’s father and a woman, when the pair tried to snatch the boy. A teenager struck the face of a retired police officer working as a security guard.
Each incident took place at a public library in 2016.
Excluding traffic and parking enforcement, building checks, and other routine
calls, police last year were dispatched nearly 450 times to branches in the Metropolitan Library System, during operating hours or within a half-hour after closing, according to local police logs obtained by
Ninety-six 911 calls were made from library phones last year. Inside libraries and around the properties, police made arrests or took incident reports on public intoxication, theft, disorderly conduct, assault and battery, and other public safety violations.
Last year, the library system logged more than 2.9 million visits at its 19 locations. As libraries fill daily with people from all walks of life, staffs handle a host of issues beyond checking out materials and charging past due fines.
From students doing homework to homeless people seeking shelter; from those conducting research to others battling mental illness, library workers must quickly pivot from pointing people to the correct section of books to helping them find the appropriate social service.
“Library services are more than just what’s on the shelf these days,” said Tim Rogers, executive director of the Metropolitan Library System. “It’s harder for those of us of a certain age to remember that it’s not just about the books. A lot of times what we’re trying to provide is more of an experience for folks, and everybody. I think that the idea of the library as the inclusive environment within the community, it’s still the place where everybody can come ... being open to the public in general creates public safety challenges.”
Police agree, but assure that libraries remain among the safest of public spaces.
“At all of our libraries, the vast majority of people who come in there are people who cause us absolutely no problem at all,” said Oklahoma City police Master Sgt. Gary Knight. “They’re fine, upstanding citizens. That being said, libraries are like anyplace else, so there will occasionally be problems there, just like there is at any type of business or establishment or government building. Each one has its own neighborhood, its own setting and its own challenges, but libraries are still exceedingly safe places.”
Often, problems erupt elsewhere, but because libraries are well-known landmarks, people go there for help.
“It is not uncommon for victims of crime to go into the library to call 911 and have police meet them there,” Knight said. “Many times the crime took place somewhere else entirely, but they know public libraries are a place they can go and get police notified.”
Still, gone are the days when the biggest problem in a public library was keeping teenagers quiet. Most people don’t understand the range of issues libraries face, such as costs incurred due to theft and vandalism, or the amount of time spent on managing troublesome patrons, according to one expert.
Many who consider misusing the library perceive that it is a soft target with caring rather than defensive and securityoriented staff, said Alan Jay Lincoln, a professor emeritus in the School of Criminology and Justice Studies at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
“Librarians often are expected to respond to the same situations that health care workers, police, assistant principals and mediators face,” he said.
Confronted with contemporary society
On Aug. 23 at 7 p.m., Oklahoma City police were dispatched to the Ralph Ellison Library at 2000 NE 23. Staff ordered a 54-year-old transient man off the property.
In front of children at the library, the man cursed and told the security guard, “I won’t have to worry about you! You ain’t going to be around much longer!” In front of a handful of young children, the man cursed at the police officers and offered them oral sex, according to a crime report. Police arrested him for trespassing after a former conviction. The call was just one among more than 100 to the library in 2016.
“The public image of the library is generally that of a quiet, comfortable, inviting place, a place where people read and study, and certainly a place where people and their belongings should be safe ... (however) the library, like other public institutions is being confronted with the problems of contemporary American society.”
The passage is from Lincoln’s book “Crime in the Library: a Study of Patterns, Impact, and Security.” He wrote the book in 1984.
Crime in the United States has dropped dramatically over the three decades since, but library workers still face the challenge of protecting their facilities, contents, staff and patrons from undesirable and criminal activities, Lincoln said.
“While most patrons use the library for work, pleasure, studying, selfimprovement, attending programs, entertainment, access to technology and so on, some see the library as a place to stay warm, clean up, buy and sell drugs, access inappropriate web material, steal library materials and patrons’ belongings, or watch or stalk children and other adults,” he said.
Open access, long hours and even the construction of libraries make them susceptible to unsavory behavior among a small portion of the public.
Library interiors are generally open to all, with some portions being private or semi-private. Such access means a person can enter the library without conforming to its mission of study, selfimprovement and community uplift.
Compared to other public buildings, such as courthouses and the post office, libraries keep unusual schedules. They often are open nights and weekends when other public facilities tend to be closed. People who may have been barred from other public buildings are relatively safe entering libraries.
Lincoln said libraries may have a disproportionate number of the young and the elderly in the facility. Older patrons may be seen as a safe target and more prone to being victimized, while younger library visitors tend to be less sophisticated about protecting themselves and their belongings.
The behavior patterns of legitimate patrons can also contribute to risks at libraries, Lincoln said. Visitors often need to be in relatively isolated sections of the building. Also, a busy patron might leave personal items unattended, if only for a minute, but that could be the opening a potential thief needs.
Crimes in a library, however few compared to the number of visitors each year, can result in significant monetary and community costs.
“Some of these are costs resulting directly from the incident, including the costs of replacing and repairing lost and damaged materials, injury, and cleaning up vandalism and graffiti,” Lincoln said. “Other costs are indirect costs resulting from the concern that crime is likely to occur again. These might include changes in patron use, security costs, insurance, patron and staff fear and anxiety, wages for security staff or police details, and changed perceptions of the general comfort level of the library. Will I still let my children spend time in the library? Can I be there after dark? Is it safe to walk to my car?”
Mental health advocates
On Nov. 2, a transient man in the downtown library’s restroom screamed at a security guard, telling him to “go use the port-a-potties outside!”
A police officer arrived about 2:30 p.m. and tried to talk to the man, but discovered his speech was broken and he appeared to not understand what the officer was saying.
“As I was lifting (him) up to walk outside, he was very flimsy, and would take large steps, as if there were holes in the floor,” the officer wrote in a report. “(He) would also look up at the roof as if he was seeing something, when there was nothing there. I believed (he) was out of touch with reality and completed an officer’s affidavit ...”
The officer took the man to St. Anthony Hospital, where he was taken into custody by staff.
Rogers, the director of the Metropolitan Library System, received his introduction to such challenges about 20 years ago in suburban Kansas City, when he attended training conducted by mental health advocates. They addressed helping people who had mental health or drug dependency issues.
“It was really odd,” Rogers said. “It was really different. Nobody ever did that training before. Nowadays I think that it is pretty common. I think that most libraries across the United States, large urban libraries like ourselves, are doing training for their staff.”
Libraries as lifelines
On a recent Monday afternoon in his downtown office, Rogers reflected on more than two decades of work in his chosen field. As libraries have evolved, so have librarians.
“Back then, people got into library work because they wanted to do research,” he said. “Google has eaten up a lot of that. Nowadays, folks get into library work because they want to help their communities. They want to be actively involved in the growth of their communities. They don’t necessarily want to be social workers, but what they want to see is work done well that benefits the public.”
They have ample opportunity. In 2013, there were 1.5 billion inperson visits to public libraries across the U.S., according to the American Library Association. Public libraries offer 4.3 million programs per year. In addition to internet access, roughly three-quarters of public libraries help visitors with job applications and interviewing skills; 77 percent offer online health resources; 97 percent help people complete online government forms.
For some, the library provides a means to stay in contact with loved ones.
“If your only lifeline to your family and friends is an email account that you can access on a library computer, then it’s something,” Rogers said.
The library system is looking into expanding its outreach. With grants or other sources of funding, Rogers said one idea is to create staff positions for a one-stop social services hub to help the public with drug, job, truancy and other issues they may be facing.
“Because so many people walk through our doors every day, it’s an obvious help to members of our community,” he said.
Other cities have already created similar positions in their libraries, including Tulsa, San Francisco and Seattle. In Tulsa for example, a case manager with Family and Children’s Services’ homeless outreach team helps those struggling on the streets.
Many are just looking for safety, security and a place to sit and think, if even for a few minutes, Rogers said.
“I think the library is that,” he said. “We have space for that. We just need to remember that not everybody has the same advantages that I may have.”