Libraries are a public space that has evolved far beyond a place to read; patrons often use libraries to “do life”- a place to study; connect with a variety of food, job and other services; and to get online for everything from job interviews to sending emails and paying bills.  The COVID-19 pandemic and the unrest following  the murder of George Floyd left SPPL leaders and staff facing heightened importance of creating truly safe library spaces for everyone.  

At the same time, libraries are one of the last remaining places where all people can come for warmth, bathrooms, an internet connection, and other simple needs – a reality that forced library staff to manage community challenges like drug use in bathrooms, potential for violence, and more while maintaining its mission to be a welcoming place for all.

SPPL decided to create new, on-staff safety roles (rather than contracted) and a new Safety Model that would guide its system-wide work to create spaces that are deeply accessible, equitable and truly safe for all patrons and staff.

SDK Contributions

SPPL worked with SDK to lead the engagement-driven process of creating a new Safety Model. Using SDK’s unique approach to Inclusive Planning, the project wove a variety of technical, staff and community perspectives including:

• Technical Safety Expert Panel. SDK assembled a team of experts in Violence Interruption, traditional safety, restorative justice, and property management/ environmental design and management to be available as technical experts to the Advisory Committee and overall process.

• Leadership and librarian Advisory Committee. SDK worked with SPPL to identify and assemble a team of city leaders and frontline staff to guide creation of the Safety Model. This Committee participated in a series of interactive and engaging design sprints where the lessons of interviews, engagement and input from the Technical Safety Expert Panel provided the fodder needed to design an approach to safety that was deeply customized to the needs and values of public libraries in Saint Paul and the city’s approach to creating safe and connected communities, overall.

• Peer-safety and leadership-level interviews. SDK conducted interviews with safety leaders in Saint Paul and at library systems across the country, transit leaders, and others working in deeply accessible public spaces that were confronting a new mix of safety challenges in the period post-pandemic.

• Deep staff and patron engagement. Through patron, staff and community engagement, SDK worked to ensure that people’s priorities and perceptions provided the early kernels of insight that sparked the new Safety Model.

Through this process, SDK guided SPPL and the Advisory Committee to co-design a Safety Model that included:

• Community Agreements that set a tone of shared ownership for library spaces

• Environmental design recommendations, from space layout to camera and sensor placement recommendations of property and environmental design experts, that help create a safer space.

• Incident management protocols for all staff roles to consistently respond to different types of incidents.

• Job descriptions and organizational chart for a Safety Manager and Safety Specialists who will serves as on-staff safety personnel. These team members will play an important role in executing the plan.