Patron Misconduct is Down

Cindy Freeland, Headquarters

It may not always feel like it when you’re out there on the front desk, but reported patron misconduct has decreased dramatically. From January through July we had only 90 Problem Patron Reports filed – compared to 122 the same time last year. That’s a decrease of 25%!

When you consider that reporting went up between 2007 and 2008, we know staff aren’t shy about reporting patron misconduct. The Rules are out there and so are the wiki Procedures for Enforcing the Revised Rules of Conduct. Library staff know what to do and they’re doing it.

We’d like to commend all those front-desk folks who are setting the standards, enforcing the Rules of Conduct, and making sure that the Library is a friendly, inviting place for everyone. So, keep up the good work and if anybody gives you a hard time, well, you know what to do.

A combination of factors probably contributed to the decline in behavior problems: Are people who come to the Library just being nicer? Is the Library atmosphere just more conducive to appropriate behavior? Are staff dealing with and diffusing situations and just plain quicker to squelch bad behavior? Are we getting tougher? We want to know what you think has lead to the decline in reported patron misconduct. Please post your ideas or observations on the FCPL Wiki (http://fcplcentral.pbworks.com/), and we will share your comments in a future Booknotes article.