- Procedure Under Revision -
The library serves all customers equally and is open to everyone. Our goal is to create a secure, relaxing, and pleasant place to learn and explore. Everyone has an equal right to access the library. No one has the right to interfere with another person’s use of library resources, services, or facilities. The Behavior in the Library Policy outlines unacceptable activities that may result in a loss of library privileges.
Our buildings are open and available for those who are carrying out library-related activities. If a customer is using our facilities for non-library activities or acting in a way that disturbs other customers you may ask them to stop the behavior or leave the library.
If you need help in dealing with a difficult customer, you should consult a supervisor. Any threats or threatening behavior must be reported immediately, and if you believe there is an imminent threat of violence, call Branch Security at 408-307-3572, University Police Department at 408-808-2635 or the San Jose Police Department (911).
These behaviors may include:
- Any activity in violation of local, federal or state law (soliciting or panhandling, being under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs, etc.).
- Intoxication
- Possession, use, or under the influence of an illegal substance
- Theft
- Possession of weapons
- Sale or intent to sell illegal substances
- Sexual assault
- Creating noises that are disruptive to other customers.
- Making any loud or unreasonable noise or other disruption, including disruptive use of personal communications or entertainment devices
- Smoking, including the use of electronic or vapor cigarettes, inside the library, anywhere on the SJSU campus or within twenty five feet of the public library entrance.
- Harassment of any kind.
- Stalking or following customer(s) and/or staff
- Physical assault or battery of staff and/or customer(s)
- Verbal or non-verbal threat of physical harm
- Disruptive, obscene, or abusive voices, language, gestures, or activities.
- Verbally abusing staff and/or customer(s), including name-calling or other language that is degrading and disruptive
- Indecent exposure, including but not limited to having sex and/or exhibiting lewd and offensive nakedness
- Large disturbance
- Leaving personal items unattended.
- Blocking entrances, aisles, or passageways with body or personal belongings (including unicycles, bedding, strollers, or other transportation items).
- Blocking library entrance areas, aisles, or passageways; interfering with the flow of pedestrian traffic
- Presenting strong pervasive odors, including odors caused by perfume or cologne.
- Bringing pets or animals, other than service animals, into the library.
- Damaging or misusing library buildings, furniture, equipment, or materials.
- Eating or drinking outside of designated areas
- Using equipment/areas/furniture other than for the intended purpose
- Sleeping at computer terminals; lying on floor or furniture; camping or lodging
- Audio, video, photographic, or any other recording of a library customer.
- Any activity which creates an unsafe and unwelcoming environment.
- Unreasonable use of the restrooms, including laundering and bathing
- Adults using the Children or Teen areas
- Bringing in large items including, but not limited to bedding, carts, bicycles, or luggage and not using them for the intended purpose
- Pest control (bed bugs)
- Soliciting money, donations, or signatures
- Not wearing shoes or a shirt
- Urination or defecation outside of restroom facilities
- Disobeying the direction of library or security staff.
- Refusing to leave or returning to the building after being suspended
Suggested scripts
- “Please use the furniture in the way it was intended.”
- “Are you accompanied by a child/teen? We want to ensure a safe environment for all our customers. You must be with a child or teen to stay in this area. Let me show you some other places you can use.”
- “For everyone’s safety, it is important that you follow staff instructions. If you do not, you may be asked to leave the library.”
- “The library needs to maintain a safe environment for everyone. Would you please move your items so they are not blocking the aisle?”
- “There have been concerns about your behavior. Please refrain from [unwanted behavior]. If it continues, you will be asked to leave the library.”
Suspensions
When a customer is in violation of the Behavior in the Library Policy, staff may need to ask them to stop and/or leave the library. Depending on the nature of the offense, the customer may require a suspension from the library. Only BLT Members or Library Security may suspend a customer.
Staff may at all times immediately discharge a customer that is dangerous or in any way threatening library staff or other customers. Review the Behavior Policy Enforcement Guidelines for a matrix of violations and suspension guidelines.
1-Day Suspension:
Some behavior may be disruptive enough to ask a customer to leave for the day. A brief written report in the Behavior Log is required for all 1-day suspensions. All suspensions at KL are reported to King Management. In order to suspend a customer for a day, the following procedures shall occur:
- Explain to the customer that they are engaging in disruptive behavior. Tell the customer what the disruptive behavior is and the importance of abiding by the policy. The customer should be advised that further violations of the policy will not be tolerated and may result in their being asked to leave for the day.
- If the disruptive behavior continues after staff has spoken to the customer, the customer may be asked to leave for the day. If the customer feels that the treatment is unfair, a supervisor or ranking staff member may be called to hear the objection. The supervisor’s or ranking staff member's decision will be final.
- MLK Incident Summary are emailed daily to King Management, noting the name of the person(s) being suspended, the date, time and reason for suspension.
Longer than 1-Day Suspension:
Some disruptive behaviors may require that the customer be suspended for longer periods of time. Longer than 1-day suspensions will be based on the severity of the behavior, or will be issued if a customer continues to be disruptive after receiving at least one 1-day suspension.
- Depending on the severity of the disruptive behavior, a customer may be suspended for a minimum of one week up to a lifetime ban for serious offenses.
- If a decision is made to suspend a customer for more than the remainder of the day, complete the Notice of Library Suspension (Spanish) document. A copy of the completed document must be made available to the customer.
- In the case of a minor (under the age of 18), staff must attempt to notify the parent or guardian and provide the parent or guardian with a copy of the completed document.
- Customers may request a Suspension Appeal Request and a copy of the Behavior in the Library Policy.
- Any customer who is suspended for one month or more is entitled to an appeal hearing and must attend a re-entry meeting before returning to the library. To receive a hearing the customer must follow the directions on their Notice of Library Suspension and submit a Suspension Appeal Request.
- The customer must complete and return a Suspension Appeal Request form of the SJPL Suspension Procedure Packet to Library Administration or to Library Security within 5 working days. Working days are defined as those days in which the library (where the suspension originated from) is open for business for any part of the day. The Hearing Officer (someone from the Executive Leadership Team) will hold a suspension hearing at the King Library. A parent or guardian must accompany a minor (under the age of 18) to the hearing. An Appeal Hearing script is used throughout the meeting. The Hearing Officer’s decision is final.
- The original suspension form shall be kept at the location where the suspension occurs. Library Security enters the suspension notice into the Incident Tracker, and uploads it into Suspensions and Documents SharePoint page.
- Any customer who violates the suspension order by entering any library or communicating with staff while on suspension will be asked to immediately leave the building and will be automatically suspended for one additional month from the date on which their suspension was scheduled to end.
- Any suspension, regardless of duration, is a suspension from all library facilities, including joint buildings.
- Customers must also have their computer privileges removed during their suspension. Library Security notifies IT (Yvonne and Becky, cc Hap) with the library card number to be blocked.
- As soon as customer completes re-entry meeting, Library Security shall notify IT of the library card number to restore access.
Behavior Log
The Behavior Log should be used to document behaviors listed in the suspension matrix where only a warning or request to leave for 1 day was given. As with Incident Tracker, when writing in the Behavior Log staff should focus on specific behaviors, not the individual. Do not use adjectives to describe a person (e.g. words like angry, grumpy, mysterious, nervous, obnoxious, sweet, adorable, or smelly). Be professional and objective in descriptions and quote exactly what the individual said whenever possible.
Incident Tracker
Incident Tracker should be used to document criminal, aggressive, and higher priority incidents that have a possibility of recurring. When writing the incident report staff should focus on specific behaviors, not the individual. Do not use adjectives to describe a person (e.g. words like angry, grumpy, mysterious, nervous, obnoxious, sweet, adorable, or smelly). Be professional and objective in descriptions and quote exactly what the individual said whenever possible. Incident Tracker procedure guide is located on the Suspension & Incident Reports SharePoint.
- Any branch staff can submit an Incident Report.
- All branches and units have their own unique logins.
- Any incident that requires longer than a 1 day suspension should be listed in the Incident Tracker by the Branch or Unit Manager.
- When branch staff submits an Incident Report, the Library Security and Manager should review the report within 24 hours.
- Once a report has been submitted, only the Manager and higher will be able to edit the report.
- The Manager or Library Security will change the status to “reviewed by SL or suspension requested.”
- If suspension is being requested the Manager or Library Security will add comments in notes and include any supporting documents or information.
- The Incident Report is then emailed to the Division Manager and Assistant Director for review.
- The Assistant Director will change the status of the report to “follow up needed,” “information needed,” “suspension approved,” or “completed.”
- Once a suspension is approved by the Assistant Director, the Library Security will complete the suspension form.
- The Library Security or Manager may serve the suspension form to the customer.
- The Library Security will send an email to all Managers, Division Managers, and Assistant Director of any customer suspension.
- The Manager will announce all suspension to branch or unit staff through SharePoint and attach any pictures.
Food & Drink
Customers are allowed to enjoy snack foods and covered drinks in the library. No full meals are allowed. Customers may not have food delivered to the library. Only covered drinks are permitted at the public computers. If a customer is eating a meal, has an uncovered drink, or is spilling their food, ask them to stop eating/drinking or finish outside of the library.
Lost and Found Procedures
Branch Libraries
If a lost item has a customer’s personal information listed, attempt to find their contact information in the ILS. Call the customer to inform them of location of their item. If the item is of value, such as wallets, cell phones, jewelry, cash, and credit cards, place the item in the branch safe. All other items should be placed in the designated library lost and found area.
When a customer comes to collect a lost item, have them describe it to you in as much detail as possible so that you can confirm it is the correct item. All items should be held for two weeks. Unclaimed items of value should be turned in to the police department. Other items may be donated or discarded.
King Library
All USBs, cash, government IDs and any personal property that is valued at more than $100 is booked into UPD property and evidence as found property by the LSOs daily. The UPD Property and Evidence Technician can be reached at 408-924-1477. Other items found on the 3rd floor are kept by the reference desk for one week before they are taken down to Access Services. Every Wednesday, other lost and found items are collected from the library lost and found and discarded.
Pest Control
If staff or customers report or see pests on furniture or materials, it is important to address the issue right away. Try to identify the type of pests you may have discovered on materials, furniture, or customers. These pests may include bed bugs, dead bugs, bed bug eggs, nymphs, and signs of bed bug feces.
If there is evidence of bed bugs, immediately quarantine for further investigation. Contact Facilities, Lisa Valerio or Harpreet Bola, to schedule an emergency K9 inspection unit. K9 inspections will be scheduled after hours, and take about 2-3 hours. Facilities or branch library staff will need to be scheduled to provide access and stay on premises until inspection is completed. At King Library, contact Tung Pham with SJSU Library Facilities. Items will be treated or discarded based on their condition. Items that are discarded due to bed bug infestations will be considered damaged items and will be subject to fines. Other items affected (checked out or not) may also be inspected and discarded. Treatments are scheduled with another vendor provided by Facilities.
Detection and Isolation
- Have a Pest Control Kit* ready and near the materials check-in area beforehand. Follow the outlined procedures.
- Do not kill bed bugs, instead isolate for further inspection by professionals.
- If bugs are in a library item, seal the item in a Ziploc bag and isolate.
- Do not discard or delete items; place a hold on the item(s) using the branch library card so that they may not be requested by another customer.
- Notify your branch manager, who will in turn notify the Division Manager and Facilities.
- Take a photo of bed bugs for eventual submission of evidence to Facilities and pest control professionals.
- If bed bugs are visually detected on a piece of furniture do not move the furniture. Bed bugs may disperse and spread throughout the library. Quarantine the furniture with tape and/or plastic wrapping. Use plastic gloves and/or clear packing tape to place bed bugs in a large furniture Ziploc bag and seal the bag.
- If an infestation is visually located in a particular area e.g., multiple chairs & tables, seal off the area and put a sign “Area not accessible due to maintenance.”
- If furniture is thrown away after quarantine, disfigure or make marks on furniture so as not to be desired by people who may want to take the furniture home.
*Kit should consist of plastic gloves, gallon sized Ziploc bags, giant Ziploc bags, spray bottle of rubbing alcohol, flashlight, magnifying glass, yellow caution tape, and airtight sealable plastic bins to keep infected items.
Remember that customers may react in many ways to a call about bed bugs. They can be confrontational, confused, or embarrassed. Pull the customer to the side, preferably in a private area where there are fewer people. Be mentally prepared for all responses. If customers do feel a sense of embarrassment, let them know that bed bugs can contaminate any location and there is no reason for shame.
Suggested Scripts:
- “Hi, The library has detected signs of bed bugs in the items you recently returned.” Have you had issues with bed bugs in your residence?
- If YES explain that the library needs to maintain a safe and healthy environment for all users and staff (as well as protecting the collection) and therefore borrowing privileges will temporarily be suspended.
- If customer says NO, inquire if they took the item(s) to another location, or loaned them to someone else who may have, or has had, an issue with bed bugs.
- If staff believes the items were exposed somewhere else, and not with the patron that has been contacted, staff may decide not to suspend privileges at that particular time.
- If customer is unsure, staff could take precautionary measures and temporarily suspend privileges until patron can provide a letter or receipt from a licensed pest control company that their place of residence has been inspected and treated for bugs.
- Please note that bed bugs can be anywhere in normal room temperatures and can travel by various means to different locations.
Searching Bags
If the security alarm goes off or you witness a customer has taken library materials without checking them out you may ask to search their belongings. Under California Penal Code section 490.5 staff may detain a customer for a reasonable period of time while conducting an investigation into suspected theft of library materials.
Suggested script:
- “Would you please return to the desk so we can make sure all of your items were correctly checked out?”
Service Animals
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has specific requirements for service animals. Service animals are defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.
Under the ADA, service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless these devices interfere with the service animal’s work or the individual’s disability prevents using these devices.
When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, you may only ask two questions.
- Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
- What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
Staff cannot ask about the person’s disability, require medical documentation, require a special identification card or training documentation for the dog, or ask that the dog demonstrate its ability to perform the work or task.
You may only ask a customer to remove their service animal if:
- The dog is out of control and the handler does not take effective action to control it.
OR - The dog is not housebroken.
Quiet Areas
If a customer is being loud in a quiet or silent area you can ask them to lower their volume and/or silence their devices.
Suggested Scripts:
- “Hi. Would you mind lowering your voice?
- “Hello. Would you mind taking your phone call outside?”
- “Hi there. Could you please turn speakerphone off? It’s too loud for this area.”
- “Hello. I’m not sure if you were aware that this is a quiet area. Would you mind lowering your voice?”
- “Hi. I just wanted to make sure you knew that we don’t allow phone calls in this section since it’s a quiet area. Would you like me to show you another area where you’d be welcome to use your phone?