Welcome to the Safety and Security Toolkit – a menu of options for you to consider based on your communities, staff, and library system.
This toolkit is regularly updated by our dedicated CULC/CBUC Safety and Security Working Group as we continue the momentum of this important work.
About
This Toolkit was developed based on input and resources shared by CULC/CBUC Safety and Security Working Group members and compiled by Third Party Public Inc. A draft of this Toolkit was shared in October 2023 at the CULC/CUBC member meeting for review and comment, and suggestions to strengthen the Toolkit have been incorporated.
The intention of the Toolkit is to provide content relevant to most public libraries. As you review it, it’s important to note:
- All libraries operate within their own context, and any use of this toolkit must consider a library’s particular governance context whether provincial, territorial, regional, or municipal, and reflect the needs of the communities the library serves.
- In that spirit, this Toolkit is intended to serve as a catalyst for ideas and is not in any way intended to be prescriptive or imply that every library needs to implement everything in the Toolkit. Each library needs to select solutions that make sense for their system and the community(ies) they serve.
- Lastly, nothing in this document constitutes legal advice. All information that is not the copyrighted material of another party may be adapted and shared for non-commercial purposes; attribution to CULC/CBUC and/or the contributing library(ies) is appreciated. The shared documents are intended for internal use only.
Note that nothing in this document constitutes legal advice. All information that is not the copyrighted material of another party may be adapted and shared for non-commercial purposes; attribution to CULC/CBUC and/or the contributing library(ies) is appreciated. The shared documents are intended for internal use only.
Introduction & Overview
Communities across Canada and North America are facing big challenges in accessing affordable housing, getting the services they need to address mental health and addictions issues, and recovering from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. These challenges are seen and felt in many places, whether it be on public transit or in parks, in community centres or local businesses, and also in our public libraries.
Across Canada, public libraries are facing an unprecedented increase in the frequency and intensity of security and safety incidents in their spaces. This has been the subject of media articles, conferences, and many conversations in libraries across Canada.
In response, members of the Canadian Urban Libraries Council/Conseil des Bibliothèques Urbaines du Canada (CULC/CBUC) came together and formed a Safety and Security Working Group to:
- promote learning, support and collaboration around safety and security in public libraries;
- develop this toolkit consisting of best practices regarding safety and security; and
- create an advocacy and communication strategy to raise awareness of the complex societal issues that public libraries are facing, reinforce the core mandate of public libraries and acknowledge our role as part of the solution, and identify the importance of multi-level government and organizational solutions.
This Toolkit was developed based on research, input, and resources shared by CULC/CBUC Safety and Security Working Group members and compiled by Third Party Public Inc., an organization dedicated to supporting collaborative, multi-stakeholder decision-making processes convened by governments and public agencies, including publicly-funded organizations like libraries.
To create this Toolkit, the following methodology was used:
- all files shared by the CULC/CBUC Safety and Security Working Group were reviewed, including results from the CULC/CBUC Security Survey;
- from these files, key topic areas for the Toolkit were identified, and resources shared by the Working Group were organized to best align with these topic areas;
- within each topic area, information was synthesized and summarized into a series of concise and accessible points that provide an overview of factors for libraries to consider; and
- relevant examples were identified to demonstrate how a subset of CULC/CBUC members are approaching the work.
The intention of the Toolkit is to make the content relevant to most public libraries, and at the same time recognize that all libraries operate within their own context. As a result, any use of this Toolkit must consider a library’s particular governance context whether provincial, territorial, regional, or municipal, and reflect the needs of the communities the library serves.
To support the ongoing sharing, learning, collaboration, and application of this Toolkit in different contexts, the Safety and Security Working Group envisions this Safety and Security Toolkit a “Living Document” that can and will be updated over time by CULC/CBUC members. Contributing CULC/CBUC members are also identified to support the collaboration process.
A CULC/CBUC Safety and Security Team will help ensure the momentum of the Working Group and the use and evergreening of the Toolkit continues (see Draft Terms of Reference for the Team included as an Appendix).
Sections in the Toolkit focus on:
- Patron Expectations
- Suspensions & Other Consequences
- Safety and Security Tools & Strategies
- Space Design
- Health & Wellness
- Training & Professional Development
- Community Resources & Initiatives
- Incident Tracking & Reporting
- Recruitment
- Legal Considerations
- Advocacy
Each section is structured to include: why the section is relevant; where the section “fits” in the library journey; key considerations; and examples and templates.