Library Board of Trustees Agenda and Packet 2023 11 09

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Library Board of Trustees Minutes DATE Page 3 of 6 • The Louisiana Attorney General set up the "Protecting Minors" tip line to field concerns about librarians and teachers offering inappropriate books to children. In Colorado - • A librarian at the Boulder PL was attacked from behind by a patron and suffered a severe concussion. • Two front range libraries experienced sexual assaults of library staff this year. • Public library branches closed to remediate Methamphetamine contamination. • One Colorado library has experienced so much disruption from patrons with mental health challenges that they plan to lock their doors and allow patrons in only after checking their library card and id. • First Amendment auditors threatened and bullied library staff throughout the state. • Several front range libraries received an onslaught of book challenges, challenges to Board positions and questions about the morality of their book selection process. • A library in Colorado Springs closed for a day to recover from a violent altercation between library patrons. 2022 Urban Library Trauma Study Key Takeaways • Every person has a right to a safe workplace, yet public librarians are often not given these protections • Societal issues like homelessness, racism, violence, and homophobia are part of the public library landscape and they must be acknowledged • Witnessing and experiencing violence is increasingly becoming the norm in public libraries • Librarians are being forced to do the work of social workers and they are developing secondary traumatic stress as a result • More than two-thirds of respondents to the 2022 Urban Library Trauma Study said they had encountered violent or aggressive behavior from patrons. • Respondents reported feeling that library administration would not back them up and support them in stressful situations or harassment. Here at home ... major events aiZi1V/191 • The Library lost half of our staff at the start of COVID. • Library staff were required to work with patrons during the entire COVID Iockdown and recovery periods.