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Campus Crime and Personal Safety in Libraries

1996; Association of College and Research Libraries; Volume: 57; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.5860/crl_57_04_385

2150-6701

Otis Chadley,

Library Science and Administration

As the rate of violent incidents increases on American college and university campuses, academic libraries are exploring ways to protect their staff and patrons.An interdisciplinary review of the literature shows that few authors have devoted attention to library security in higher education.This study surveys the literature in library science, law enforcement, the social sciences, education , and general-interest publications.General and specific crimes are discussed, and suggestions are provided on how academic libraries can improve personal safety.Suggestions include: written emergency procedures, security equipment, and crime prevention staff training, along with safer building design, staff work area rearrangement, more campus involvement in library security, and improved employee/patron communication to ensure a safe, friendly, and pro-library environment.ampus crime threatens our college and university libraries, and our entire academic ~~!!!!!!!!!!~ community.ANew York Times Maga zine article called "The Campus Crime Wave" describes the personal dangers that exist on many American campuses: "From ax attacks in libraries to shootings at dances, violence on urban, suburban and rural campuses has transformed many schools into discreetly armed camps: electronic passkeys for dormitories, cold-steel mesh on classroom windows, computer-controlled cameras in stairwells, alarm strips in toilet stalls." 1 Crime has become such a serious problem on campuses that in 1992, Congress passed the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act, which requires academic institutions to report the crime rate and types of offenses occurring on their campuses. 2iminal activity on college and university campuses is not a new phenomenon.In 1966, Charles Whitman became a mass murderer when he went on a shooting spree and killed 18 people at the University of Texas.Between 1967 and 1969, Norman John Collins murdered seven Eastern Michigan University women.In 1972-73, Edmund Kemper fatally wounded ten women at Cabrillo College and the University of Califor~ia at Santa Cruz.In 1978, the infamous serial killer Ted Bundy broke into a sorority house at Florida State University at Tallahassee, and attacked and murdered two women.Bundy was alleged to have killed more than 30 people before he was captured four years later.Between 1984 and 1985, eight murders happened near the campus of Texas Christian University.