First of all, having a security guard walking the perimeter of the library will help prevent problems. Without a doubt it discourages troubled patrons from entering the library. For the …show more content…
The security guard can also prevent any of the banned patrons from trying to gain entrance to the library. Banned patrons are patrons that use abusive or offensive language. Others have taken books from the library and willfully destroyed them by tearing out pages or blacking out text they deem inappropriate. Then there are our homeless patrons who need extra help, some of them have acquired an odor so pungent that makes my I eyes burn and instantly causes me to gag, and we provide them with a list of meal and shower locations. We do encourage the homeless patrons to return once they have their hygiene problem under control. Meanwhile, it would also prevent other problems that interfere with the health and welfare of patrons. Some of our smoking patrons decide to smoke their cigarettes, pot, and cigars in front of the entrance, ignoring the signage requiring the smoker to smoke 20 feet away from the entrance. It would also prevent our homeless patrons from …show more content…
One of the problems is the staff being accosted in the parking lot. We used to take our breaks under the big olive tree in the back of the library, but we are hit up for money, pot and cigarettes from passersby. Friday night when leaving the library, my coworker Ann and I walked straight into a homeless young man who was setting up his camp for the night at the back door. I think he was as scared as we were. He grabbed his bags, blanket, and ran off. Another problem is the personal threats against staff. Patrons who are denied access to the computers become very hostile very fast, a patron told my coworker Cody, “I will get your skinny, gay ass when you leave the library,” she stalked him for an hour, but she was gone by the time the police arrived. It seems like working at the library requires staff to have a stalker, we all do. One of my coworker Alex’s stalker professed his love to her while the police escorted him out of the building. As he turned around, he dropped his pants and said, “I will be back for you, baby.” The worst problem is threats against the library as a whole. This one patron wanted us to make a recommendation for a dentist, and since we can only give out listings, he got so mad at us. Then he called us over 20 times to tell us in a very explicit terms, “If you don’t give me the f****** number, I’ll come over there and shoot up the f****** library.” Federal charges were