Webinar: Security for Rural Librarians--Staying Safe at Work When Help is Far

Safety and security are foremost concerns for every library. But if you are an employee in a rural library, you may not have resources that urban or suburban libraries have--like multiple co-workers, security officers, safety policies, or even local law enforcement.

There is often safety in numbers. But what should you do when the numbers are not in your favor? What if your library has limited exit points, few or no other employees, or the police require 20 minutes or longer to respond? In rural areas where help may be far away, it is critical that you are aware of all available safety and security options that may help keep yourself and your patrons safe.

Join library service, safety, and security consultant Dr. Steve Albrecht for this important webinar designed specifically for rural library employees and leaders. With decades of experience, Dr. Albrecht will provide the knowledge and tools needed to help you evaluate and improve the security measures and safety protocols in your library facility. 

In this webinar, you will explore:

• Trusting your intuition when working alone. Should you stay or go?
• Setting up help systems, like phone trees, code words, exit and evacuation plans.
• Improving your physical security, for instance, cameras, panic alarms, better door hardware, remote locking devices, safe rooms.
• The value of Security Incident Reports.
• How to get better results from your law enforcement agencies, elected officials, and supportive community members.
• How to handle patron scenarios that only rural libraries have to deal with.

Dr. Steve Albrecht has trained thousands of library employees in 28+ states in service, safety, and security since 2000. His programs provide tools that can be put to use immediately in the library workspace with all types of patrons. He is an accomplished author of more than 26 books, including the ALA-published book Library Security: Better Communication, Safer Facilities and a new book, The Safe Library: Keeping Users, Staff, and Collections Secure, published in 2023 by Rowman & Littlefield. Dr. Albrecht holds a doctoral degree in Business Administration (D.B.A.), an M.A. in Security Management, a B.S. in Psychology, and a B.A. in English. He is board-certified in HR, security management, employee coaching, and threat assessment. He lives in Springfield, Missouri, with six dogs and two cats.

Click here to fill out the Library Employee Security Perception Survey

All library employees and board members are encouraged to complete this survey. 

Please fill out the survey even if you don't plan to attend the webinar. 

EVENT NOTES

Registration Details | Not sure you can make it to a live webinar? Register anyway, and we’ll send you a link to the recorded version when it is available. Registration is limited. Deadline for registration is seven days prior to the event. Webinar access information will be emailed to registrants prior to the event.

Recording | When you participate in a SCKLS webinar, a photographic, video or audio recording may occur. If you want your image or voice removed from the webinar recording, you must notify in writing SCKLS Training Specialist Katherine Hughes at least 24 hours in advance of the webinar. Absence of written notification grants SCKLS all rights to the webinar recording for educational purposes.