[Libs-Or] OLAQ Author Showcase | Buzzy Nielsen & Jane Scheppke | Don’t Deputize Intolerance: Keeping Your Security Policies Safe from Your Patrons

[OLA Communications Committee]

Please download and read, “Don’t Deputize Intolerance: Keeping Your
Security Policies Safe from Your Patrons,” by Buzzy Nielsen & Jane
Scheppke, here:
https://journals3.oregondigital.org/olaq/article/view/vol27_iss1_5

>From their article, “Like in many other communities suffering identity
crises, some people in Crook County, and its only incorporated town of
Prineville, ran afoul of the rising use of opioids (Chaney, 2019).
Those of us at the public library saw the effects firsthand. In 2018
and 2019, the library faced a confluence of opioid-adjacent
situations. These incidents presented a serious security dilemma for
the library where we worked as director and assistant director: How do
we ensure safety for the most vulnerable patrons, including those
experiencing adverse effects from drugs, while generally keeping the
library welcoming for everyone? This dilemma led us to two
security-related decisions: to forbid sleeping in the library and to
install security cameras. Both decisions ultimately demonstrated how
choices made, ostensibly, to protect patrons' physical safety, or to
help some people feel more ‘secure,’ can adversely impact safety for
patrons who are already marginalized.”

BUZZY NIELSEN (he/him) is the former Director of Library Services at
Crook County Library in Prineville, Oregon. He has spent most of his
career in small and rural libraries throughout Oregon. You probably
receive more email from him than your best friend due to his current
role as Program Manager for Library Support & Development Services at
the State Library of Oregon.

JANE F. SCHEPPKE (she/they) is the former Assistant Director of
Library Services at Crook County Library. As of December 2021, they
are a digital multimedia artist based in Salem, but the future is wide
open. By the time this goes to print, they could be a master machinist
and father of four based in Schenectady. Reality is what you make it.

OLA Communications