Dr. Albrecht - "Theft or a Misunderstanding?: What Was the Patron’s Intent?" | Plus, Library Civility (Tomorrow)

We've just posted a new Dr. Albrecht blog post in our "Library Service, Safety, & Security" section of Library 2.0: "Theft or a Misunderstanding?: What Was the Patron’s Intent?"

When it comes to thefts in your library, not everything may be as it first seems. It's certainly possible the patron who put that DVD or book into his or her backpack and walked out the front door with it may have meant to check it out but just forgot. People can be distracted by the complexities and urgencies of life and these things happen. It's also certainly plausible the patron who actually steals a book from the library may really want to read it, just doesn't have the time or inclination to get a library card, and may even return the book when finished. It's useful to give patrons the benefit of the doubt that the vast majority want to do the right thing...

As a crime, stealing is all about intent. Did the person mean to do it or was it an accident due to forgetfulness? ...So, now let's consider some useful ideas for preventing thefts of library equipment, staff personal items, or patron's items.

Read the full post here.

While Dr. Albrecht's twice-monthly podcast and blog posts are available for free, as are our regular mini-conferences and all the conference recordings, we offer a series of his paid webinars and recordings which are available for individual or group viewing here.

Upcoming Thursday, March 10th:

Recordings Available:

DR. STEVE ALBRECHT

Since 2000, Dr. Steve Albrecht has trained thousands of library employees in 25+ states, live and online, in service, safety, and security. His programs are fast, entertaining, and provide tools that can be put to use immediately in the library workspace with all types of patrons. In 2015, the ALA published his book, Library Security: Better Communication, Safer Facilities. He is currently writing the sequel, The Safe Library: Keeping Staff and Patrons Secure in a Changing World.

Steve holds a doctoral degree in Business Administration (D.B.A.), an M.A. in Security Management, a B.A. in English, and a B.S. in Psychology. He is board-certified in HR, security management, employee coaching, and threat assessment.

He has written 24 books on business, security, and leadership topics. He lives with seven dogs, two cats, and three chickens.

Dr. Albrecht's recent podcasts episodes include "Service: The Walt Disney Way," "Mentorship and Succession Planning to Develop Library Leaders," "The Power of Staff Meetings," "Are We Making It Too Hard to Hire Qualified Library People?," "Tools and Tips for Library Supervisors: Parts 1 & 2," "Stop Saying Calm Down," Spirit of Service," "Library Civility: A Code for How We Treat Each Other," "The Code of Quality Service," and "The Power of Surveys." You can listen directly on the site or you should also be able to access the podcast in SoundCloud here or in your own podcast app using the RSS feed here.  Click here to let us know what topics you'd be particularly interested in having us cover in the Library 2.0 webinars, blog posts, and podcast series. 

Dr. Albrecht's other recent blog posts are available here, including: "The Value of Little Old Lady Librarians (LOLs): Better Patron Service Through Alignment," "The Value of Role-Play Practice at Staff Meetings: Using Challenging Patron Situations to Get Our Responses Right," "Gang Problems in the Library: A Rare But Challenging Security Concern," "The 'Best Boss – Worst Boss' Exercise: Assessing Yourself as a Library Leader," "Developing Financial Knowledge and Budget Skills: What Every Library Supervisor Needs to Know," "Puzzled About the Police Response in Your Library? Perhaps a Better Understanding of Their Unique Culture Will Help," "Safety and Security at the Jacksonville (FL) Library" (a 40-minute video interview with Chet Price, the Safety and Security Manager at the Jacksonville (FL) Library), Solving Conflicts Between Library Employees: A Tool For Getting Along When No One Wants to Get Along," "Is There Hidden Bias at Your Library?," "The Hidden Power of the Pages (Our Employees, Not Our Books)," "Forgiveness: How Libraries Can Host Programs on Restorative Practices - An Interview with Azim Khamisa," "Do Your Library Employees Have the “Spirit of Service?,” and "Library Civility: A Code for How We Treat Each Other."