OPAL Updates and Tips

April 2023 OPAL Idea Exchange: Steal My Idea

Discussion Highlights

Steal My Idea

Active Shooter Emergency Training/Documentation Needs

One of the key takeaways from April's discussion was the need for emergency and active shooter plans and training. A handful of institutions maintain written procedures. Franciscan, John Carroll, Bluffton, Mount Carmel, and Mount Union have also had some sort of training. Participants shared the following advice: 

• Amy Leoni (Franciscan) suggests library directors do a training session with their student workers, walking through any procedures, because it is often student workers who are staffing the library when incidents are most likely to occur (evenings and weekends). Otterbein requires library staff to attend Active Shooter training once every 365 days.
• Franciscan Lockdown and Evacuation Order Procedure
• Your institution's security department or police department may be able to provide training elements. Otterbein and Mount Carmel found this to be very helpful because the Active Shooter training tends to be heavily participatory with simulations and tactical practice that includes blocking doors and strategies to safely exit the building. 
• Tiffany Lipstreu (Otterbein) also shared that their Building Safety Committee is currently working on additional “navigating challenging situations” training.  They are drafting potential scenarios for role-play and vetting them with appropriate stakeholders. Some topics under consideration include "students interrupting other studying students to create social media video with sexually oriented questions, students falling down threadbare stair carpeting (prior to it getting updated) and posting to social media, how to handle protesters that start coming into library from campus grounds."
   

Additional Resources

• FBI Active Shooter Safety Resources 
• Active Shooter How to Respond documentation - Department of Homeland Security
• Upcoming June 13 Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE) training through the State Library of Ohio
• Public Library Director Toolkit compiled by the North Dakota State Library