- \n
- De-escalation techniques aren’t needed for a person who is simply being inappropriate<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- When dealing with a patron who is asking inappropriate questions like \u201cwhere do you live?\u201d or \u201care you married?\u201d while you\u2019re working, use your voice, face, and body language to send a clear, assertive message. Set a clear boundary by saying something like: \u2018I am not going to answer that, but I can answer library-related questions,\u2019 or \u2018I\u2019d love to tell you about our new books,\u2019 or \u2018Did you see this program we have later today?\u2019\u201d.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Using de-escalation techniques all depends on the context. Is the patron a regular that you know how to handle? Did the person come to the library with the goal of being disruptive? Are you planning a program on a topic that\u2019s divisive within your community? Is it common practice at your library to use or call security? You know your library and community best, so if a problem arises, contextualize the situation to know whether you need to use de-escalation techniques. If possible, it\u2019s ideal to intervene early.\n
- \n
- For example, in a programming situation, intervene right away before the program begins if you overhear patrons complaining to others or to themselves about the program topic. Create a rapport with that person, redirect them, and try to get them out of the room by having them write a letter or write their complaints down. If your program is in collaboration with another organization, have a clear plan with duties for both teams if things start to escalate.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- If the situation is left unchecked, there is a chance of quick escalation and danger.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How to de-escalate with safety in mind:\n
- \n
- Ground yourself.<\/strong> Take a deep breath and think about the situation at play \u2014 and your goal. This is not the time to try to win an argument or convince someone that the LGBTQIA program they\u2019re protesting is important. The goal is not to change minds but to create a safe space and not have someone cause a scene in the library.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Assess for safety.<\/strong> Is there a weapon present? Are you dealing with one angry patron or a crowd? Do you need to call in additional staff or outside reinforcements (like the RCMP)?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Show that you are calm.<\/strong> You can demonstrate calm through body language by nodding your head and holding your hands in front of your body. Physically demonstrate that you\u2019re not here to argue back.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Ask, listen, and empathise:<\/strong> Agree with what you can, listen, and empathise with what you can. If you have a solution for the patrons’ issue, offer it to them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Have the person exit.<\/strong> The escalated person might storm out on their own, and that\u2019s an okay way to conclude the situation, or they may want to lodge a complaint, or they may calm down. Give them an alternate way to have their feelings heard like writing down their concerns and forwarding them to the Library Manager. For example, if you have a patron who is being disruptive during a library program, have a staff member approach them and say something like this: “Hey, it seems like you have a lot of concerns about this topic or this speaker. Do you want to talk about them with me? Let\u2019s step outside of the room to talk”.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Practice being assertive with smaller issues, such as telling patrons to wear headphones while on the computer or asking them to take a phone call outside. Once some have responses for the smaller things mastered, it\u2019ll be easier to be more assertive in other situations. Remember that you are allowed to set boundaries, you are allowed to enforce library policies, and if you must tell someone to leave, you have the right to do so.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Memorize some go-to phrases to use when de-escalation of a library situation is needed, like:\n
- \n
- \u201cSounds like you have a lot of concerns. Let\u2019s talk about them.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- \u201cI can only answer library-related questions.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- \u201cThat\u2019s not allowed here.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- “That\u2019s not OK.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- “It\u2019s not OK to talk to people like that.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- \u201cIf you keep doing that, I will have to ask you to leave the library.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Content sourced from: Arata, H. (2022). De-escalation Techniques for Real-Life Programming Scenarios. American Library Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are some additional tips for working with patrons from a variety of different backgrounds using a trauma-informed perspective by Shay Vanderschaeghe:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Acknowledge-everyone-always-forever-Introduce-yourself-as-much-as-possible.-Ask-people-what-their-name-is-especially-when-someone-is-escalated-791x1024.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPlease see the additional resources below for more de-escalation resources and tips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Working in an unsafe consumption site: A library perspective | Canadian Union of Public Employees<\/a>
ON Library workers for SCS (@libraryworkers4scs) \u2022 Instagram photos and videos<\/a>
saveoursites | Instagram | Linktree<\/a>
It isn’t personal: HR in the Library by Shay Vanderschaeghe on Prezi<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>
Toolkit – CULC\/CBUC Library Safety & Security Toolkit<\/a>
Public-Library-Social-Work_Overview-of-Trauma-Informed-Care_FINAL.pdf<\/a>
Training – Homeless Training<\/a>
Resources | HRNA\/AIIRM<\/a>
Up in Smoke: Analyzing the risk of illicit drug exposure and the harms of exposure misinformation<\/a>
The Safer Bathroom Toolkit – University of Victoria<\/a>
Safer Bathrooms: Stimulus Connect 22<\/a>
Community Resources | Red Deer Public Library<\/a>
The Homeless Hub | Library of Resources on Homelessness<\/a>
Shift – SafeLink<\/a>
Help support survivors of human trafficking in finding a path to safety.<\/a>
Download Reports and Toolkits \u2014 ACT Alberta<\/a>
211 Alberta | 211 Alberta, Help Starts Here<\/a>
Needle Disposal – The City of Red Deer<\/a>
Inner City Health and Wellness Program<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As a library staff member, you may face stressful or potentially harmful situations on the job. Maybe you\u2019ve recently had a run-in with a patron asking you uncomfortable questions or had a program that was met with protests. Perhaps you have community members who are experiencing mental health issues, homelessness, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75,84,86,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health-wellness","category-health-and-safety","category-library-management","category-library-services"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6000"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6000\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6084,"href":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6000\/revisions\/6084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/support.prl.ab.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Assess for safety.<\/strong> Is there a weapon present? Are you dealing with one angry patron or a crowd? Do you need to call in additional staff or outside reinforcements (like the RCMP)?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Ground yourself.<\/strong> Take a deep breath and think about the situation at play \u2014 and your goal. This is not the time to try to win an argument or convince someone that the LGBTQIA program they\u2019re protesting is important. The goal is not to change minds but to create a safe space and not have someone cause a scene in the library.<\/li>\n\n\n\n