Sunday, March 25, 2012

Chippewa Falls Public Library Revises Its Patron Behavior Policy


Library gets a handle on loitering teens. (Chippewa Herald, 3/25/2012)

Excerpt: For months, teens gathering at the Chippewa Falls Public Library at 105 W. Central St. were causing such problems that police officers were repeatedly called to respond. 

There were times some of the youths were abusive to library staff and each other. 

“We had fights out in front of the (library’s) doors,” said library director Darryl Eschete. Other library users felt intimidated by some of the youths’ use of profanities. 

But things changed for the better after the city cited several youths for underage smoking. “The problem has suddenly cleared up,” Eschete said on Friday. 

The city is also considering amending the city’s smoking ordinance to prohibit smoking on the grounds of the library. 

“That’s basically why we did the smoking ordinance,” said Council Member Bill Hicks, who also serves as a library trustee. 

Hicks added the conduct policy for library patrons is being rewritten. “If they are making people uncomfortable, they need to go,” he said.

Related articles:
Westminster discusses loitering near library at meeting.  (Carroll County MD Times, 2/13/2012)
Vandals provoke anti-loitering law. Teenagers damaged library. (Toledo Blade, 12/14/2011)
Librarian wants police to crack down on unruly tweens.  (DNAinfo.com -- NYC borough of Manhattan -- 1/24/2011)
Lock the Library! Rowdy Students Are Taking Over.  (The New York Times, 1/2/2007).  Comments at librarian.net


Here's a solution tried by at least one (UK) public library.

Classical music still effective at dispersing loitering teens.  (Los Angeles Times, 2/4/2011)

Excerpt:  With all sorts of the funding cuts hitting orchestras during the recent recession, there is still one aspect of classical music that local governments find valuable -- the music's unfailing ability to disperse loitering teenagers from public areas. Whether its Handel piped into New York's Port Authority or Tchaikovsky at a public library in London, the sound of classical music is apparently so repellent to teenagers that it sends them scurrying away like frightened mice.

Take your pick.





Not quite the wayback machine.

Town mulls ban to end loitering.  Teens using parking lot as gathering space draws concerns.  (Bangor Daily News, 6/20/1996)  @ the Pittsfield Public Library.


And for nighttime loitering, here's a recent news report from Wales.

Council plans to introduce new 'acne lights' to deter loitering teens.  (Wales Online, 3/5/2012)

Excerpt: They are the bane of just about every teenager’s life – spots. 

But now – in a move thought to be the first of its kind in Wales – one council is considering exploiting pubescent acne to stop anti-social behaviour by youngsters. 

Cardiff council and South Wales Police are considering installing streetlights which show up skin blemishes, according to council deputy leader Neil McEvoy.

Residents of Fairwater, in the west of the capital, were told at a Pact meeting last week that the lights could help deter groups of youths loitering in known trouble hotspots. 

The idea of the scheme, which has been a success elsewhere in the UK, is that the lights highlight spots and send youngsters fleeing with embarrassment.


The Multnomah County Library takes a more positive approach.  Here's a staff training PowerPoint that I stumbled across while cobbling together this post.  (See also Behavior Rules Governing the Use of the Library.)



Slides 42-47









Excellent advice, although from experience I know that following through on it doesn't always lead to an immediately successful outcome -- no matter what the age of the person.  I also learned that working together with staff in order to develop an appropriate and consistent response is a key element in dealing with these situations.  

As the Chippewa Falls Public Library Patron Behavior states at the onset, while on the library premises, library users are expected to behave in a courteous and civil manner and to respect the library building, library staff and their fellow library users.

The library board and staff have a responsibility to create an atmosphere in which people of all ages feel comfortable.



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