Main Library safety update and new procedure

As we prepare to open the second floor at the Main Library, we’re updating our security procedures. This will affect how volunteers get into the building, so please read carefully!

Because of the expansion/remodeling, staff assignments are changing, and more people will be answering doors and admitting volunteers and visitors to staff areas. Our Technical Services staff (who answers the staff door on weekday mornings) is growing, and a rotating cast of Circulation staff, Administration staff, and volunteers will be admitting volunteers and guests through the lobby.

As a result we’ve realized that staff and volunteers need a quick and simple way to identify who should (and shouldn't) get into the building. It's a big job--more than 100 staff and about 500 volunteers are authorized to be in staff areas each year! 

So starting April 15, we’re asking volunteers to carry their volunteer badge with them to gain access to the staff areas of the library. Consider it your keycard.

This applies to EVERYONE, whether you come in the staff door before 10am on weekdays or you use the lobby entrance later in the day or on weekends; whether you’ve been volunteering here for 20 years or you did your orientation yesterday. Because so many people will be answering the doors, you may run into someone you haven’t met before. Just show your badge, and you can come in.

But what, you ask, if I forget my badge? Don't fear--we have a plan! The person at the door may ask you where you volunteer, who you work with, etc., to make sure you are who you claim to be and that you’re cleared to come on in. If they’re still unsure, they’ll check your name against a volunteer roster.

Our goal is not to make volunteers or visitors feel unwelcome, but to give people the tools to make sure this is a safe and secure working environment. We’re asking for volunteers’ help, too:

·         Do not let unknown people into the staff areas of the Library. This includes holding doors or admitting people to the vestibule in the staff entrance. Library staff and volunteers should have a badge. If they don’t, please ask them to wait while you grab a staff member for help.

·         If you see someone without a badge in the staff/volunteer-only parts of the Library, please mention it to staff immediately or introduce yourself and ask if you can help them find anything. These are the questions we’re suggesting people use if they run into unknown/unbadged people in the staff side of the Library:

§  Are you a volunteer/staff?

§  What do you do?

§  Who do you work with?

§  How long have you been volunteering/working here?

If the person can’t answer those questions, please find a staff person to help. If they can, then you’ve had a good getting-to-know-you conversation!

These changes will take some getting used to for everyone—staff, volunteers, and visitors—and if you have questions or concerns, please let me know. I’m very grateful for, and impressed by, your flexibility and aplomb in dealing with our constant changes and adjustments, and I know we’ll make this one look easy too!