As “prepare to reopen, safety is a primary concern of leaders and workers alike. Measures to keep staff and patrons as safe as possible from coronavirus infection are being instituted in libraries across the country. But most of those measures require patron cooperation. Reports of retail customers attacking store and restaurant workers over being told to don masks, as well as general worries over lack of compliance or having to enforce new rules, have added an extra layer of uncertainty for those returning to work.

LJ spoke with several security professionals to get their takes on concerns that our readers shared, including Steve Albrecht, author of Library Security (ALA, 2015) and a library security consultant and trainer, and three representatives from Margolis Healy and Associates: Cofounder and CEO Steven J. Healy, EVP Daniel R. Pascale, and VP for Strategic Initiatives Christi Hurt.”