Handle Recruiters in Your Library
Librarians have a tough job, especially when it comes to ethics. In this scenario, we will explain how to go about recruiters at the library. In this hypothetical situation, a military recruiter gives information about and recruits to the military to a teenager at the library. A patron noticed the recruiter giving this information and did not like the recruiter giving the information to the teenager, so the patron asked the librarian if he could put up a sign that states “Do not join the army.” Read below to learn how to deal with a similar situation.
Steps
- Identify the situation. A recruiter was speaking with a teenager and leaving out important facts, such as the physical and mental costs of serving in the armed forces.
- Speak with the recruiter. Look at whether or not the encounter with the teenager was a formal or informal recruitment. An informal meeting where they happened to run into each other and started to discuss joining the military is much different than a planned meeting where the recruiter went in planning on talking to teens about the benefits of joining the military. We believe that this should be handled differently if it is a formal recruitment versus an informal recruitment.
- A formal recruitment shows that the recruiter went in with the intention of selling the teenager on joining the military and purposely left out the very real dangers that they could be facing if they were deployed abroad. If this was an informal meeting and perhaps the teenager was just asking about life in the military, the recruiter could be forgiven for glossing over the bad stuff, especially if he had no intention of trying to actively recruit the teenager.
- The teenager has a right to receive all of the information in order to make an informed decision. The decision to enlist in the military is one of the biggest decisions that someone can make in their life. And either way, formal or informal, recruitment could be seen as a form of solicitation, so they must adhere to the library policies on that as well.
- Speak with the teenager. Find out if the teenager was accosted by the recruiter while trying the use the library or if this was a prearranged situation. Also, find out if the teenager was similarly bothered by the patron’s sign.
- Speak with the librarian. The original librarian in this situation gave the patron permission to hold up the sign. The director should verify that that is correct and bring them into the loop on how that may be a violation of policy.
- Speak with patron. After gathering all the facts from the other participants, speak with the patron.
- Consult the policies, if necessary. Policies differ from library to library. It's important to understand and establish policies that are fair for patrons and align with the code of ethics.
- Work out a decision that is fair to everyone. Once a decision has been made, implement it fully and put the decision in the policy.
Tips
- Consult your state library association and the ALA code of ethics on how to handle situations like this in the future.
- Make a policy regarding this issue if you don’t already have one.
- Hand out a copy of library patrons when they sign up at the library and have some available for patrons to browse at their leisure.
- Make patrons aware that there are meeting rooms available for these types of meetings.
