Library Security: Better Communication, Safer Facilities. By Steve Albrecht. Chicago: ALA, 2015. 184 p. Paper $55.00 (ISBN: 978-0-8389-1330-7).

Dr. Steve Albrecht is a renowned security consultant with experience working with and consulting for libraries that are implementing or improving security plans and procedures. He is also a retired San Diego Police reserve sergeant. Library Security: Better Communication, Safer Facilities is a practical book dealing with security and customer service in an era in which workplace violence, mental illness, child neglect, and homelessness are realities for all libraries, regardless of their size or location. Filled with engaging anecdotes and forthright advice, this volume is both readable and useful. Although Albrecht emphasizes issues that are especially common in public libraries, this book provides information beneficial to those working in any kind of library, archive, or information setting that is open to the public.

Library Security: Better Communication, Safer Facilities consists of ten chapters, each dealing with a different aspect of workplace security. Albrecht begins with an introduction to the library workplace of 2015 as well as an overview of his guidelines for determining when patron behavior warrants staff intervention. According to Albrecht, library staff can increase the safety and comfort of their facilities by being alert to patron behavior, using customer service skills to defuse challenging situations before they start, and implementing and enforcing a code of conduct. After discussing various types of challenging behaviors commonly seen in libraries, Albrecht provides a helpful guide to threat assessment. He describes two basic types of threatening patrons, the noisy but typically manageable “howler,” and the quieter but more menacing “hunter,” and explains the best ways to manage the former and proactively identify and deter the latter.

In the second half of the book, Albrecht discusses how to prevent and respond to violent situations, including tips for verbal de-escalation, guidelines for determining when to call police, and the “Run, Hide, Fight” protocol for responding to an active shooter. The author then presents a protocol for conducting a site security survey, along with tips for building mutually beneficial relationships with police, mental health resources, and other relevant organizations. After a final chapter discussing staff development and training in security best practices, Albrecht provides a site survey checklist, exercises for staff training, and other useful resources.

Albrecht uses a light tone to deliver important and serious information in an engaging and readable manner. This book naturally will be beneficial for administrators developing site security plans, but it is also likely to be of use to department heads and team members in public services, circulation, and reference departments.—Sarah Clark, Associate Library Director, Rogers State University, Claremore, Oklahoma