A Safe Haven on Campus? | From the Bell Tower
We think of the academic library as a safe, secure haven, but crime happens everywhere on campus Steven Bell, Associate University Librarian, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA Feb 3, 2011In a recent column I mentioned my visits to other academic libraries. One of the first things I tend to notice when I walk into another academic library is whether or not there is a security guard at the entrance. If you never worked in an academic library with a guard stationed at the door, you probably don't think about this much, but when I see one it tells me something about the campus and its community. For one thing, there's probably a higher incidence of theft, of both materials and personal belongings.
A door guard can help by performing identification checks to keep track of who is entering and leaving the building, as well as checking bags, if needed, as people exit. When academic libraries are located in communities where crime is a concern, door guards can also be a sign to let potential criminals know the library is vigilant. Guards are also helpful for communicating with campus security when a crime or altercation happens in the library, which is a good thing, because academic librarians are typically ill prepared for these situations.
It starts with awareness
If your academic library rarely experiences crime of any type, I'm glad to hear it. But I suspect that fewer fall into this category. Whether it's petty theft from backpacks, the loss of electronic devices when students get careless, or something of a more violent or threatening nature, more of our libraries are coping with crime.
In my current position I've gained a heightened awareness of the crime issue because I'm responsible for monitoring our campus crime reports for any library-related items, and I serve as the liaison to campus security. Our library does use door guards, we do check IDs, and we do ask outside guests to sign a logbook. As a result we have a good track record for minimal crime, and have gained efficiency at working with campus police to ban those whose behavior violates our code of conduct. These individuals know that returning to the library will result in their arrest.
Getting betting better at crime prevention involves awareness, policies, and preparation, and that means acknowledging that our libraries are no safe havens.
The tower's dark side
That the ivory tower was ever a safe haven in the past 50 years is now acknowledged as myth. The authors of The Dark Side of the Ivory Tower: Campus Crime as a Social Problem point to the 1960s and the decline of the tradition of in loco parentis as a time when greater freedoms led to more opportunity for campus crime. In tandem with the growth of students taking greater risks and demonstrating increased irresponsible behavior came the campus administration's lax attitude toward campus security.
In an interview the authors share how the lawsuits, federal regulations on crime reporting, sensitivity to bad publicity, and increased competition for students improved the way institutions approached campus security. Because of the long hours of library operation, many late into the night when the crowd thins, and dimly lit or rarely visited nooks and crannies, administrations should be concerned about the library as a prime location for criminal activity. As Dark Side of the Ivory Tower points out, greater awareness leads to more security cameras in academic libraries, routine patrols by undercover campus police, and other techniques we must introduce as preventative measures.
Staying vigilant
Keeping our libraries safe is the responsibility of every staff member. Here's an example. In the fall semester I received a phone call from a librarian working the reference desk. She calmly related how a male student had just walked up to her and said that everyone in the library needed to be extra careful today and that he would be back later to check on things. That's not the sort of thing you expect a student to say, and you'd be right to think it bizarre. My colleague said it was probably nothing, but she felt that she should share it with me. I thought she was probably right, but these days we can take nothing for granted and we can no longer afford to assume everything is all right. That's why I called campus security to report the incident.
When the officers arrived they interviewed our librarian who gave a description. The student was located shortly thereafter in the Student Center. It turns out this student does have a learning disability which results in him occasionally saying rather strange things—some alarming. We were told that in the future a staff member from disability services would accompany him to the library. In the end there was no serious threat, but it was the vigilance of my librarian colleague that led to a good, informed resolution. It's true that had she simply blown it off probably nothing more would have happened. With such attention, the message we are sharing with our staff is that we can't afford to take that chance.
We now require all staff to complete incident reports for any and every act of crime, report of harassment, or anything else they think the administration needs to be aware. That enables us to have good records to document any increases in crime, and have sufficient data for campus security as needed to investigate a case.
We can be safe
The good news is that reports of violent crime in academic libraries are few and far between. When we do hear of a library-based crime, it's usually in a public library. While I have no statistics to support it, my belief is that academic libraries that serve the public experience more crime, both minor and major. That is part of the price paid for the responsibility of meeting the institutional goal of serving the broader community, and we know that many good citizens benefit greatly from what we provide.
Safe haven on campus? The academic library probably never was and never will be. We'll never be able to prevent every crime, the best we can do is to be vigilant and take personal responsibility to act when we believe something is not quite right. We need to create awareness so that all staff know how to respond in a crisis, what actions to take, and how to look out for one another and our community members. That, as they like to say, is the way to take a bite out of crime.
Steven Bell is Associate University Librarian, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA. For more from Steven visit his blogs, Kept-Up Academic Librarian, ACRLog and Designing Better Libraries or visit his website.
