Library Security: The Importance Of Security In The Library

What is security? Security is a protection of a person, building, country or an organization against threats. (Cambridge Dictionary, n.d.). As we know, most librarians faced with the prospect of planning a new libraries or a major renovation move into the panic mode because planning for a construction can be overwhelming, even for who have been through the process in the past. In the term of security and protection, most of libraries fail to recognize the exposure of their collections to be loss or damage. The collection not only can be threatened by the theft and vandalism, but also by the disasters. For example, flood, earthquakes or fires. Besides that, most of the library staff members have heard the stories that describing trusted patrons even the staff itself who have stealing the library collections for their personal gain or to add to their private collections instead to buy by their own. The library staffs members do not believe such things could be happen in their place because in the libraries or information centers have a basic security policy. And some of the patrons see the security measures as inconveniences. In order to protect the books and other libraries materials, the security and protection planning must be effective and must be widespread the understanding of the importance of security. The security planning must be supported by the highest level of the institution. Don Revil (2007) stated that libraries appear to have ten easily identifiable security