The Champaign (Ill.) Public Library board voted unanimously July 27 to hire a security guard to quell problems with unruly patrons. Beginning in September, a guard will be on duty at the main library 45 hours per week. The arrangement is experimental and its effectiveness will be reviewed before a guard is hired permanently, the August 1 Champaign News-Gazette reported.
The decision belatedly follows a March 30 incident in which a patron threatened librarians, threw a book, and had to be subdued by police. According to the News-Gazette, library staff have reported 203 incidents of unacceptable behavior, including intoxication, disorderly conduct, and intimidating sexual behavior, since January 1997.
Three-quarters of the library staff support the addition of security guards, according to a recent library survey. “I’m not interested in learning how to take someone down. That’s not why I’m here,” staffer Edith Harris told the board. “This can be a scary place sometimes, and we want some backup.”
Library Director George Scheetz argued that his staff also needs special training to be prepared to handle problems on their own.
Posted August 7, 2000.