Good morning! For those who do not already receive Ryan Dowd’s [author of “Librarian’s Guide to Homelessness”] regular emails, I thought you might find his tip for the day useful.
Stay safe, and thank you all for everything you do for your communities and each other.
Respectfully,
Lisa
Lisa M. Shaw
(Pronouns: she/her)
Maine State Library – Library Development
Rural & Small Libraries/Workforce Development Specialist
64 State House Station
Augusta ME 04333-0064
(207) 747-8717 (mobile)
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https://www.maine.gov/msl/libs/index.shtml
http://www.linkedin.com/in/lisanealshaw/
https://www.ala.org/pla/initiatives/workforce
[cid:image003.jpg@01D7AEDA.C1D0F740]
Dator’s Law: “Any useful statement about the future should at first seem ridiculous.”
[Jim Dator]
From: Ryan Dowd <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2021 11:01 AM
To: Shaw, Lisa M <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Has someone threatened your staff?
EXTERNAL: This email originated from outside of the State of Maine Mail System. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Question
Dear Ryan,
A library patron (an adult male) was sitting on the floor in the children’s section.
When a staff member asked him to move to another section, he cussed her out.
Our security staff asked the man to leave the building. The man left, but not before threatening the security staff.
The threats have our staff terrified.
Any thoughts?
Sincerely,
Brenda
Answer
Most people don’t follow through on their threats.
Some do, though.
How do you know when someone is actually dangerous?
Here are my six factors for evaluating a threat:
1. Did the person show a weapon? This is a gamechanger (in a bad way). I don’t believe that having a weapon increases the likelihood of violence. It does, though, ensure that the violence will be more serious if it does happen. (I don’t want to get punched in the nose, but I REALLY don’t want to be stabbed.)
2. Does the person have a history of violence? The greatest predictor of future violence is past violence. This is the most important factor.
3. Are “tough people” afraid of this person? At the shelter, if our residents are afraid of someone, the staff knows that we should be afraid too. Are the police skittish around this person? That’s never good. The reverse is also true, though: If the police say someone is harmless, they most likely are.
4. Was there ANY physical contact during the threat? If there was a shove or a chest bump, that worries me. Once the person crosses the line into physical touch, it isn’t that much further to violence.
5. How specific was the threat? Specificity is bad. There is a big difference between “I’ll kick your ass” and “I’ll be waiting for you outside of the staff door when you get off work tonight at 6 pm.”
6. How far away was the person when they made the threat? If the person threatens from 15 feet away, that is a good indicator that they won’t follow through. On the other hand, if they get up nose-to-nose with you, that is much worse.
Have a question? I'd love to hear it! In fact, I'll be answering questions at our live training in October. To submit your question, just click on this link: https://www.videoask.com/fb60jfol8<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fclick.convertkit-mail.com%2Fo8u0nwrzd6sqh2z0d3av%2Fkkhmh6h8lpnxrwhl%2FaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudmlkZW9hc2suY29tL2ZiNjBqZm9sOA%3D%3D&data=04%7C01%7Clisa.m.shaw%40maine.gov%7Ca1c9baec5544478356f308d97d10a030%7C413fa8ab207d4b629bcdea1a8f2f864e%7C0%7C0%7C637678333826249738%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=xgssDbrzS87S%2Fg%2BV5CFj%2FNAVX0g3r8dQsYupzarqCG8%3D&reserved=0>
Not a member? I'd still love to hear your question. In fact, if we pick your question, you're ENTIRE ORGANIZATION will be invited to attend the October training for FREE.
Have a great week!
Ryan
Topics:
* Is there a specific patron that you are unsure how to handle and would like guidance?
* Did you have a situation with a homeless patron and you're not sure whether or not you dealt with it correctly?
* Do you have specific questions about people experiencing homelessness, poverty, mental illness, or substance abuse?
* Do you have a coworker who struggles when dealing with challenging patrons and want to know how to help him/her?
Date: Thursday, October 14, 2021
Time: 11AM Pacific / noon Mountain / 1PM Central / 2PM Eastern
Length: 1 hour
Recording: The recording will be available for 1 month after the live event. The training will also be added to the Homeless Training Academy in Niche Academy where you can view and obtain a certificate.
Cost:
* Free – Organizational members of our training (the registration link was emailed a few weeks ago). Libraries in the following states are covered through your statewide membership: Arizona, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin, and Queensland (Australia). If you'd like to be added to our system to receive the webinar link directly to your inbox, give us your information using this link: http://bit.ly/MonthlyWebinarSignup<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fclick.convertkit-mail.com%2Fo8u0nwrzd6sqh2z0d3av%2Fg3hnh5he32mqr4fr%2FaHR0cDovL2JpdC5seS9Nb250aGx5V2ViaW5hclNpZ251cA%3D%3D&data=04%7C01%7Clisa.m.shaw%40maine.gov%7Ca1c9baec5544478356f308d97d10a030%7C413fa8ab207d4b629bcdea1a8f2f864e%7C0%7C0%7C637678333826269651%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=8fj05kNOQfXVheCRk4DNTFTrbDJkvOjX%2B0smYvbH%2BBk%3D&reserved=0>
* $25 – One person - go to http://www.homelesslibrary.com/qandawebinar3.html<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fclick.convertkit-mail.com%2Fo8u0nwrzd6sqh2z0d3av%2F9qhzhnhgp8d505t9%2FaHR0cDovL3d3dy5ob21lbGVzc2xpYnJhcnkuY29tL3FhbmRhd2ViaW5hcjMuaHRtbA%3D%3D&data=04%7C01%7Clisa.m.shaw%40maine.gov%7Ca1c9baec5544478356f308d97d10a030%7C413fa8ab207d4b629bcdea1a8f2f864e%7C0%7C0%7C637678333826269651%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=osPNpiczjuxOaDSmEdijHsj49iGUpxTm4EFDiBFAYrE%3D&reserved=0>
* $49 – Five people - go to http://www.homelesslibrary.com/qandawebinar3.html<https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fclick.convertkit-mail.com%2Fo8u0nwrzd6sqh2z0d3av%2F9qhzhnhgp8d505t9%2FaHR0cDovL3d3dy5ob21lbGVzc2xpYnJhcnkuY29tL3FhbmRhd2ViaW5hcjMuaHRtbA%3D%3D&data=04%7C01%7Clisa.m.shaw%40maine.gov%7Ca1c9baec5544478356f308d97d10a030%7C413fa8ab207d4b629bcdea1a8f2f864e%7C0%7C0%7C637678333826279606%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=eelT%2FZnm4BUVhwWLySK51kGWvIjw%2BhJ4qQXS4KLoK90%3D&reserved=0>
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