There are many forms of irresponsibility. Some can be fairly minor, like leaving the milk out overnight; major, like defaulting on a loan; or deadly, like having too many drinks at dinner. There can also be irresponsibility specific to a field of practice, like librarianship, which is the topic of this post.

There actually are forms of irresponsibility in librarianship that can be deadly, and maybe not surprisingly, many of them have to do with fire. Libraries are quite literally tinderboxes full of paper. The same kind of paper you use to add kindling to your fireplace or your campfire. so when someone forgets to turn off a space heater before leaving for the night, and it catches fire, the whole place can go down. The same could happen in broad daylight while the building is full of staff and visitors, so folks can get trapped. Earthquakes are equally risky in libraries. hundreds of pounds of books can fall over and crush folks. When extra or unwanted furniture is stashed underneath the steps in stairwells, it can fall and block emergency exits.

So many of those risks can be drastically lessened by library leaders having a clue about the risks that should be common sense, taking on the responsibility of checking in to be sure everyone in their organizations knows what the risks are and what to do to prevent them, and serving as examples. Like the first rule of fires: you take care of yourself first. There is no liability if you get yourself out and someone else doesn’t make it. That’s not on you. And so do your people–they are absolutely never told to sweep the building to be sure others get out–they are not first responders, they are not trained to do so, they are not wearing protective gear, and there IS liability if they don’t survive but were instructed to put themselves in danger.

You also do not take it upon yourself to assist someone with mobility issues who cannot take the stairs. Disabled folks know exactly what to do in that situation: enter the stairwell, and wait. First responders don’t casually walk in the front door and wait for the elevator (which is why you don’t do the reverse–wait for the elevator and walk out the front door). Instead, they take the stairs up. Do you know what they do on the way? They get the folks waiting in the stairwell out. They are specifically trained to do so. They have the specialized equipment to do so. Getting a group of people together to carry a person with a wheelchair down the stairs doesn’t make you a hero; it blocks others from exiting and first responders from doing their jobs.

Do you know what else falls under the first rule of fires? Moving away from the building under alarm. You take care of yourself first. Even if you want to be sure others do not enter, you DO NOT stand close to the entrance to direct traffic away from it. You yell as loud as you can and wave your arms, even crowdsource the yelling and waving, to alert folks from afar. Remember that the alarm is blaring, and the blinking light for deaf visitors is exceptionally bright for a reason: when someone tries to enter, they will hear it, they will see it, and they will turn around. And if they don’t? It’s literally not on you. They take on their own risk, and they take on their own liability.

I don’t doubt there are myriad other ways that irresponsibility equals life-or-death danger in libraries. This is the most obvious, of course. Part 2 will discuss the irresponsibilities that eventually lead to the forced obsolescence of the field and its people.

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Disclaimer:
All words and images are my own. If they are not, they are cited as such to give proper attribution to the intellectual property owners.
No words or images reflect the opinions or viewpoints of my current, former, or future employers and educational institutions. They are from my own viewpoint.