Savannah Library Gets a Report Card
on Security from Police
Recent incidents involving rowdy teens and a gunshot at the Chatham-Effingham-Liberty Regional Library in Savannah, Georgia, prompted the library board to request the assistance of Chatham County police in assessing security measures. After spending a week clandestinely monitoring patron behavior and staff responses at both the library’s Bull Street facility and its Forest City branch, three police officers presented their findings to the board on September 19.
According to the next morning’s Savannah News, the officers recommended that the library reopen bids for security services and improve the capability and effectiveness of the existing video monitoring system. “On those rare occasions when police intervention is required, a police officer can be summoned by calling 911,” the report stated. “The use of private security officers works very well when experienced officers, officers familiar with the library system, are used.”
Interim Library Director Bill Johnson said he needed time to review the report before making recommendations involving the budget, but that a library task force has already initiated discussions with young adults on how to maintain order in the library without making them feel unwelcome.
Posted September 25, 2000.
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