Restorative Justice in Libraries: A Short Guide

For me, the impetus for using restorative justice practices in libraries was a long road. I began my career in libraries working in a large urban library and later my first supervisory position was similarly in a big library with a large homeless population. As we all know, library services are critical to homeless populations, but at the same time many of us go through a cycle of suspending the same patrons over and over again for infractions related to mental health, drug addiction and even hygiene issues.

Certainly working in these libraries I built positive relationships with people experiencing homelessness, but in the end I was also someone who would wield the punitive measure of a library suspension, which solved little but removed the behavior problem in question to another venue.

In my current role I work at a suburban library located across the street from a middle school. The library’s location means it is a prime spot for parents to leave their kids for a few hours after school until they are able to pick them up at 5:30 or 6 pm. Inevitably during the school year the afternoon influx of kids causes a variety of use conflicts in the building, and behavior problems like fist fights, vandalism, and arguments with adult patrons are not uncommon. In this environment, once again suspensions for code of conduct violations had little positive impact.

We continued to see the same problems exhibited by the same youth even after they returned from suspension. Moreover, it also became clear that so many of the kids who most needed the library, who had less than positive home situations, were also often the same kids we saw recurring behavior problems from. At this point, it became clear to me that the way we were handling behavior was often counterproductive and, on occasion, even harmful.

Having read about restorative justice practices being used in school and other community settings, I began to wonder if it might be a viable option to use at the library. On an experimental basis, I began to incorporate restorative circles into my conferencing with youth who were having behavior problems in the library. The aim was to encourage more accountability with youth, so that we might be able to move past some of the recurring behavior problems and let them continue to use the library. It meant investing a little more time into working with kids to get them to see the impacts of their actions on others.

Almost immediately we saw progressive improvement with some of our most difficult cases because they were making their own commitments to repair the harm they had caused through their conduct. Moreover, it meant we could continue to allow kids who really needed the library as a safe place in their lives to continue to use our facilities.

Over time we were able to partner with a local continuation high school that uses restorative practices with their students and train all of our line staff on how to use it in their daily practices. We also learned during this process that using restorative justice in the library setting requires some adjustment. Libraries are not closed communities in the same ways that classrooms are. People come and go, so the community building aspect of restorative practices can be tougher than in other settings. With a little experimentation, however, we have been able to pull together a methodology that seems to work. It reduces behavior problems over time and focuses on relationship building and encourages greater accountability among some of our most difficult patrons while greatly reducing the instances when we need to use library suspensions.

With the pandemic, now is as good a time as any to rethink how we handle behavior concerns in our spaces. Even with the issue of masks, these tools can sometimes be an effective tool to help patrons see beyond themselves in regards to the impacts of their behaviors on the wider community.

Below I am providing an outline of our procedures in the hope that it can be useful for other libraries that want to try to institute restorative practices in their facilities. Using these practices does require staff training and more time on the front end working with patrons, but, for us at least, the impact on long term behavior has been worth the time investment…And more importantly it has made a positive impact on our patrons. In my view, It has been a way to walk the walk when we say “libraries are for everyone.”

Procedures for Dealing with Patron Behavior Issues Using Restorative Practices

1. During slow periods staff make rounds through the Library straightening up, looking for those who need help, and looking out for potential behavior issues.

2. Staff members greet patrons coming into their vicinity and make positive inquiries:

• Uses 10–5 Rule — Staff member acknowledges patron at 10 feet and inquires if they need help at 5 feet
• Friendly Greeting — staff members give friendly greetings to those entering their vicinity.
• Friendly Inquiry or Statements — Especially for regular patrons, staff members make friendly inquiries such as “how are you doing today?” or “it’s good to see you.” For patrons who may exhibit behavior problems, this helps build the rapport necessary to get them to work toward behavioral changes. Restorative practices work best when we build a community of library users.

3. Staff members note good behavior and positive change when they see it:

• Note Positive Behavior or Changes — When staff members observe a patron exhibiting a positive behavior, especially one they have been talked to about previously, they inform the patron that they notice the positive behavior and appreciate their work toward improving.
• “Thank you for bringing your scooter up to the desk today, it makes a big difference.”
• “Thanks for doing such a great job keeping your volume down this afternoon.”

4. Staff members step in when they observe an activity that is illegal, unsafe or disturbs others:

• Illegal activities — Possible illegal activities include entering the library intoxicated, making threats, violence, vandalism, attempting to hack computer networks. If these activities pose an immediate and grave threat to others, call 911.
• Unsafe activities — Possible unsafe activities include fighting or roughhousing, throwing objects, running, using wheeled vehicles and standing on furniture or signs. If these activities pose an immediate and grave threat to others, call 911.
• Activities that disturb others — Possible examples of activities that disturb others include yelling, arguing, making loud noises, listening to music without headphones, making messes, and eating at the computers.

5. If an issue is observed that may be resolved using restorative practices, the staff member asks patrons to speak to the patron away from distractions, so that they can be on equal footing:

• Ask the patron(s) to chat with you away from the area of the incident — This does two things, it may interrupt the current problem and give all parties a chance to cool down. It also removes distractions such as games on the computers which make discussing behavior difficult.
• Take the patron(s) to seating where you are on equal footing — You want to utilize chairs of equal height. The idea is to create a more comfortable and equitable space for conversation about the incident at hand. This allows for a focused space where you can discuss how to repair the damage caused by the incident through the use of restorative questions (#6) and affective statements (#7).

6. Staff member uses restorative questions to inquire about behavior concerns:

For the patron causing concerns

• What happened?
• What were you thinking at the time?
• Who has been affected by your behavior? In what way?
• What do you think you need to do to make it right?

For the aggrieved party

• What impact has this incident had on you and others?
• What has been the hardest thing for you?
• What do you think needs to happen to make things right?

Take notes — Often in these situations you serve as a proxy between the aggrieved party and the person causing the behavior challenge. You may need to relay information between the two parties that accurately reflects the issue at hand.

7. Staff members use affective statements when talking about behavior issues with patrons. Don’t be afraid to be a bit vulnerable, if the issue at hand is having a negative impact on you, but as always, your safety comes first:

Explain how the incident affects others

• “When this happened, the other patron was unable to focus on their resume.”
• “When you continue to do this after I’ve asked you not to, it makes me feel frustrated.”
• “When you roughhouse in the Library, it makes others feel unsafe.”
• “When you use that kind of language in the Library, it makes others feel unwelcome or uncomfortable.”

8. Staff members work to guide the responsible party toward a solution. The object of restorative practices is to repair the social harm that a negative action has had. In your conversations with the responsible party your goal is to have them come up with their own solution to repair the harm that they have caused. Examples:

“I will try to be quieter in the computer lab and if I can’t, I will have to leave the lab for the day.”

“I will leave my scooter at the front desk every day when I arrive, so that I don’t end up riding it in the Library.”

“I will walk away or let a staff member know if someone is making me upset.”

9. Staff passes on relevant information about their encounters with patrons when they change shifts or leave the desk:

• Have you issued warnings?
• Have you asked a patron to leave the computer lab?
• Has there been a previous patron complaint that day?
• Have you filled out an incident report so that a significant disturbance or disciplinary action has been documented?

10. Staff member holds patrons accountable by harkening back to previous agreements and/or conversations with a patron when dealing with subsequent issues:

“Do you remember what you said you were going to do in regards to using your scooter in the library?”

“Based on our previous conversations, this seems like a time when it would be good for you to walk away from this conflict”

“Do you remember last week you said you wanted to work on maintaining a lower volume level while in the computer lab?”

References:

Costello, B., Watchtel, J., & Watchtel, T. (2010). Restorative Circles in Schools: Building Community and Enhancing Learning. International Institute for Restorative Practices.

Costello, B., Watchtel, J., & Watchtel, T. (2013). The Restorative Practices Handbook for Teachers, Disciplinarians and Administrators. International Institute for Restorative Practices.