 National Association of Counties * Washington, D.C. Vol. 31, No. 5 * March 15, 1999 Previous story | Table of Contents | Next story Hats Off to … Libraries
Problem Behavior Project Societal problems have spilled into every segment of our society, including public libraries. County library employees must be prepared to respond to such issues as homelessness, violence and drug abuse. In Fairfax County, Va., There has been a dramatic rise in the number of problem behavior incidents occurring in its libraries. To assist library employees in dealing with and preventing these problems, Fairfax developed the Problem Behavior Training Workshop and Manual. A six-member task force drafted a manual that outlines problem behaviors and provides model responses for employees to use when dealing with disruptive patrons. The manual covers a wide variety of occurrences, from unattended children to stalking. Using existing county staff, the task force also conducted training for library employees. The county attorney’s office, police department, school system and mental health services were asked to assist in training. The departments addressed four areas during training: liability issues, criminal behavior, teenage behavior and homelessness. The training workshops focused on specific action steps in addressing problem behavior. In addition, they served as a reassurance to employees that the library has a known and stated philosophy and a useful procedure manual to support them in their interactions with the public. Summer Library Program Many county libraries offer summer reading programs for youth. However, the popularity of these programs often strains the resources of the county libraries. At the same time, libraries in schools are closed, leaving their materials unavailable to children for the entire summer. The Henrico County Public School System and the Henrico County Public Library teamed together to keep the school library materials from sitting unused. The school system agreed to open 38 elementary school libraries for a limited number of hours, two days per week during the summer. The county promoted the summer school library hours by contacting daycare centers and school associations. Not only did opening the school libraries mean additional reading materials, but it was often easier for children to travel to their local elementary school than to their nearest public library. As a result of this program 17,142 items, which normally would have sat unused, were circulated by the schools. The program was supported with Title VI funding, allowing the school to staff each of the 38 libraries with one library media specialist. Total budget for the program, including salaries and supplies, was $34,300. Celebration of Reading The public library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County coordinated with the local school board to create a yearlong program to promote literacy in the county. The Celebration of Reading was developed to increase the use of the county library, increase the number of library materials, and increase the library’s formal ties to other community agencies and organizations. The yearlong campaign included a wide variety of events. Not only did the campaign promote literacy but other public issues, such as health and diversity, were addressed at each of the events. For example, one workshop centered on how to read nutritional labels, while another program was developed for at-risk Hispanic preschoolers and their families. The Westside Storytellers was a Hispanic bilingual storytelling program developed to reach out to the county’s growing Hispanic population. More than 30,000 individuals participated in the major programs and 20,000 children participated in the Summer Reading Program. Circulation of materials increased by 4.3 percent, new library cardholders increased 22 percent, and approximately 60,000 cataloged materials were added to the library system. The total program budget was approximately $385,000 for speaker/workshop honoraria, space rental, audio-visual needs, and program supplies/materials. (Hats Off was compiled by James J. Culotta, research assistant. Hats Off features 1998 NACo Achievement Award winners.)
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