When working in any type of library, maintaining a positive image in the public eye can be a daunting task. Being prepared for planned activities, such as marketing, programming or booktalks is extremely important. With careful planning and adequate time, goals can be set and arrangements made to provide the best possible service within your library community. In addition to planned activities and marketing, it is also imperative to be prepared for the situations that are least expected.

One of the most challenging tasks in providing public service is dealing with difficult customers/patrons that are an inevitable part of the library process. How difficult situations are handled play a key role in how your library is perceived in the public eye. Being prepared for these difficult situations will allow you to maintain composure and deal effectively with a variety of conflicts, from a disgruntled patron to an organized group of tax protestors.

Below you will find information related to handling such conflicts, as well as additional resources for advocating library service on a local and national basis.

Customer service is the key to a retailers success, but how to deal with difficult customers can turn retail jobs into a nightmare. This article will provide strategies for defusing tense or volatile situations.

One disgruntled customer can lead to the loss of at least six others by word of mouth alone. This is an informative article from The Restaurant Voice; targeted toward restaurant service but applicable to all types of public service.

The first contact approach is very effective in de-escalating a potentially difficult situation. The following steps are easy to follow and can be used for virtually any situation.

Problem patrons represent a small group, but every library needs to spend time preparing for all problems whether they be potential or real.

With cutbacks in social services, libraries have become a refuge for the dispossessed and mentally ill. On rare occasions, other visitors slip in a gun. How can librarians protect themselves against patrons who are troubled or violent?

Behavior Management in the School Library Media Center, Edited by Thomas L. Hart. (Chicago : American Library Association, 1985). Behavior modification and library instruction for school library media centers.

Defusing the Angry Patron: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians and Paraprofessionals (How to Do It Manual for Libraries, No 100), by Rhea Joyce Rubin. (Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.; ISBN: 1555703720; January 2000). If you work in a library, you sometimes deal with difficult and angry patrons. Rubin is a library consultant who also gives workshops for library staff on learning how to handle angry patrons; her book is ideal for front-line librarians and paraprofessionals. Steps staff can take to prevent anger in the first place follow an overview of types of anger. Rubin explains 20 basic coping strategies.

Helping the Difficult Library Patron: New Approaches to Examining and Resolving a Long-Standing and Ongoing Problem, Edited by Kwasi Sarkodie-Mensah, PhD. (Haworth Press; ISBN: 0789017318; July 2002). Insightful information on dealing with an issue as old as the library profession: interacting with problem patrons. Provided to help you serve and make the work of your library staff less stressful, more productive, and increasingly meaningful.

Patron Behavior in Libraries: A Handbook of Positive Approaches to Negative Situations, Edited by Beth McNeil and Denise J. Johnson. (Chicago: American Library Association, 1996). This title offers a comprehensive approach to dealing with a multitude of difficult patron situations. It also offers a guide to developing behavior policies for your library

This brochure provided by the Illinois Library Association (ILA) focuses on the need for increasingly more sophisticated legislative advocacy on behalf of libraries and the millions of people who depend on them.

A comprehensive list of Internet resources from The Internet Public Library relating to library advocacy and promotion.

A resource from the American Library Association - Handling tough questions by the public and media, and a variety of other useful information for promoting library service effectively.

This resource is provide by the Benton Foundation and provides an abundance of useful information. The emphasis is providing a best practices toolkit for achieving your organization's mission with tips for promoting collaboration and public relations.

Getting Political: An Action Guide for Librarians and Library Supporters,
by Anne M. Turner. (Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.; ISBN: 1555702821; February 1997). In order to meet today's financial challenges, libraries must be ready, willing, and able to enter the arena of politics and compete for scarce public funding. Getting Political offers step-by-step guidance to librarians, library workers, trustees, and Friends organizations on evaluating the existing local political structure, galvanizing public support, and using aggressive political action to take control of--or at least influence--the process of government decision-making about libraries.

1. Scare yourself with a mystery.
2. Learn how to lower your taxes.
3. Reserve a book.
4. Trace a friend in an out-of-state telephone book.
5. Prepare for your job interview.
6. Pick up a book on cassette and listen to it in your car as you drive home.
7. Read a large-type book without wearing your glasses.
8. Check out the latest jazz CD by Chick Corea
9. Spruce up the house with the latest books on interior design.
10. Borrow Hawaiian music for your luau.