Sharing expertise gleaned from more than two decades as a library security manager, Graham demonstrates that libraries can maintain their best traditions of openness and public access by creating an unobtrusive yet effective security plan. In straightforward language, the author Shows how to easily set clear expectations for visitors' behavior Presents guidelines for when and how to intervene when someone violates the code of conduct, including tips for approaching an unruly patron Offers instruction on keeping persistent troublemakers under control or permanently barred from the library Gives library staff tools for communicating effectively with its security professionals, including examples of basic documentation The Black Belt Librarian arms librarians with the confidence and know-how they need to maintain a comfortable, productive, and safe environment for everyone in the library.

Sharing expertise gleaned from more than two decades as a library security manager, Graham demonstrates that libraries can maintain their best traditions of openness and public access by creating an unobtrusive yet effective security plan. In straightforward language, the author Shows how to easily set clear expectations for visitors' behavior Presents guidelines for when and how to intervene when someone violates the code of conduct, including tips for approaching an unruly patron Offers instruction on keeping persistent troublemakers under control or permanently barred from the library Gives library staff tools for communicating effectively with its security professionals, including examples of basic documentation The Black Belt Librarian arms librarians with the confidence and know-how they need to maintain a comfortable, productive, and safe environment for everyone in the library.

Library work is really all about people. And the inclusive, welcoming nature of the library means that all kinds of people pass through its doors. Not all difficult patrons are dangerous, but some frighten staff and other library users, which can lead to situations that are distracting, troubling, and fraught with liability. For more than a decade, Albrecht, a 15-year police veteran, has presented workshops for libraries on dealing with challenging patrons. His no-nonsense advice will empower library staff in their personal security and give them the tools to confidently communicate with their colleagues, patrons, and members of law enforcement regarding inappropriate behavior. In this book he addresses security issues important to all libraries, including Specific guidance for common situations, such as unruly teens, unwanted sexual advances, chronically homeless substance abusers, and moreThe elements of an effective Code of Conduct and how to enforce itTips on how to manage internet usage to minimize potential problemsHow to align with patrons and use language that defuses the conflictForming partnerships with service organizations, homeless shelters, mental health advocacy groups, and other community resourcesHow to know when it’s time to call the police, plus ideas for increasing law enforcement supportWays to make the library more secure through changes to facilitiesThrough the methods outlined in this book, Albrecht demonstrates that effective communication not only makes library users feel more comfortable but also increases staff morale, ensuring the library is place where everyone feels welcome.

As the official defensive tactics system of Israeli police, military, and elite special operations units, krav maga has proven its effectiveness from front lines to back streets. "Black Belt Krav Maga" teaches and illustrates the discipline's most lethal fighting and self-defense moves in book format.

Is the traditional library business model a victim of disruptive digital technologies? Library Management in Disruptive Times identifies the key skills and attitudes needed by the library leaders of today and tomorrow and delivers a balanced view of the future of the profession. Contributed to by expert professional library leaders and educators from across the globe, this edited collection offers thought-provoking perspectives on the challenge of the current operating environment across a range of library sectors, library professional associations and geographic regions. Each author brings their own particular area of expertise and perspective on to consider the effects of disruptive change in libraries globally. Key topics covered include: - Leading change - Management fads and their impact on libraries - User engagement - The value of collaboration and consortia - Library management and the global economic crisis - Agile management techniques - The role of professional associations in redefining the profession - Developing management skills on the job - Planning for the future. This dynamic collection helps readers to envision the purpose and value of future libraries and to see change as a rare opportunity to create truly new roles for librarians. Readership: This will be essential reading for library managers, directors and aspiring leaders throughout the world.

Provides advice to librarians overseeing building projects, including guidelines on communicating with architects and contractors, keeping within time and budget constraints, and meeting standards and ADA requirements.

Freedom Libraries: The Untold Story of Libraries for African-Americans in the South. As the Civil Rights Movement exploded across the United States, the media of the time was able to show the rest of the world images of horrific racial violence. And while some of the bravest people of the 20th century risked their lives for the right to simply order a cheeseburger, ride a bus, or use a clean water fountain, there was another virtually unheard of struggle—this one for the right to read. Although illegal, racial segregation was strictly enforced in a number of American states, and public libraries were not immune. Numerous libraries were desegregated on paper only: there would be no cards given to African-Americans, no books for them read, and no furniture for them to use. It was these exact conditions that helped create Freedom Libraries. Over eighty of these parallel libraries appeared in the Deep South, staffed by civil rights voter registration workers. While the grassroots nature of the libraries meant they varied in size and quality, all of them created the first encounter many African-Americans had with a library. Terror, bombings, and eventually murder would be visited on the Freedom Libraries—with people giving up their lives so others could read a library book. This book delves into how these libraries were the heart of the Civil Rights Movement, and the remarkable courage of the people who used them. They would forever change libraries and librarianship, even as they helped the greater movement change the society these libraries belonged to. Photographs of the libraries bring this little-known part of American history to life.

**New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice** To save ancient Arabic texts from Al Qaeda, a band of librarians pulls off a brazen heist worthy of Ocean’s Eleven in this “fast-paced narrative that is…part intellectual history, part geopolitical tract, and part out-and-out thriller” (The Washington Post) from the author of The Falcon Thief. In the 1980s, a young adventurer and collector for a government library, Abdel Kader Haidara, journeyed across the Sahara Desert and along the Niger River, tracking down and salvaging tens of thousands of ancient Islamic and secular manuscripts that were crumbling in the trunks of desert shepherds. His goal: preserve this crucial part of the world’s patrimony in a gorgeous library. But then Al Qaeda showed up at the door. “Part history, part scholarly adventure story, and part journalist survey…Joshua Hammer writes with verve and expertise” (The New York Times Book Review) about how Haidara, a mild-mannered archivist from the legendary city of Timbuktu, became one of the world’s greatest smugglers by saving the texts from sure destruction. With bravery and patience, Haidara organized a dangerous operation to sneak all 350,000 volumes out of the city to the safety of southern Mali. His heroic heist “has all the elements of a classic adventure novel” (The Seattle Times), and is a reminder that ordinary citizens often do the most to protect the beauty of their culture. His the story is one of a man who, through extreme circumstances, discovered his higher calling and was changed forever by it.

"Is your library going to have a plan for the safety of staff and patrons, or are you just going to keep 'opening and hoping' nothing bad will happen in your library today? Are you going to sacrifice a safe library environment to be 'welcoming?' Here are the questions librarians around the world most frequently ask Warren Graham, the nation's leading authority on day to day library security procedures, as well as his candid answers!" --p. [4] of cover.