Keeping Libraries Safe, Open & Free
How might we make public libraries safer and prevent violence while keeping them free and open spaces for the community?
This is the primary question at the heart of research conducted by The University of Texas at San Antonio School of Public Health.
This quantitative and qualitative research relates to a six-month pilot program conducted in 2024.
After a spike in physical and verbal assaults the previous year, armed police officers were deployed to patrol San Antonio Central Library downtown.
Some patrons and staff felt relieved. Others felt threatened. One group staged a “read-in” protest.
Over a week in December 2024, professors Jelena Todic, MSW, PhD and Ian Johnson, Ph.D., LCSW, aided by social workers, presented qualitative and quantitative research in open virtual and in-person sessions with library staff and community members.
Using an adaptive method from the Conversation Café, they created a warm, open space for connection and dialogue at the intersection of overlapping, often difficult, social issues:
police presence & community trust
freedom of information
chronic homelessness
the joy of learning
civil liberties
public safety
All while pursuing the library's mission to transform lives through the power of imagination. 📚
Peter Durand of Alphachimp LLC provided graphic recording and visual note-taking for the feedback sessions with library staff and the community.
