Episode two examines a multi-faceted, important issue: library security. American Libraries Associate Editor and Dewey Decibel host Phil Morehart talks to three people from the library world who work to help us understand how to handle safety issues—both large-scale, harrowing encounters and smaller but still disconcerting events—in our buildings and on our campuses. Mary Ann Jacob, a library aide who works at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, who was present during the fatal shootings on December 14, 2012, shares her powerful story and how it led to her current work with Everytown for Gun Safety. Kathleen Moeller-Peiffer, director of New Mexico State Library, explains some of the active shooter training programs she made available to her staff at the New Mexico and New Jersey state libraries. Steve Albrecht, former San Diego police officer, host of the podcast Crime Time with Steve Albrecht, and author of Library Security: Better Communication, Safer Facilities (ALA Editions, 2015), provides tips on what libraries can do to stay safe on a day-to-day basis.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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