Policing and Carcerality in Public Libraries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29173/pathfinder100Keywords:
Policing, Carceral care, Public libraries, Security, Marginalized peoplesAbstract
Policing in libraries poses a significant barrier to access for many potential patrons—and yet, much of the literature on library security advocates for strong security measures without regard for the safety and wellbeing of patrons and staff who are BIPOC, LGBTQ2SIA+, disabled, and unhoused. Considerable lived experience and research shows that police disproportionately target those whose identities deviate from the norm, but in a society with so many diverse experiences, identities, and relationships to power and authority, we are obligated as socially conscious library workers to consider how our relationships to policing and security in the library affect all peoples. To do so, we draw on an intersectional abolitionist praxis that seeks to deconstruct the carceral and penal systems omnipresent in our society. After exploring some of the security measures taken by public libraries that enable the carceral state, we propose alternative measures that can be taken through the acronym-based catchphrase to encourage library workers of all types to give greater consideration to the ramifications of involving police in difficult patron interactions.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Sean Gleason, Ash Ridsdale, Monica Maddaford, Alyssa De'Ath

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors retain all copyright for their work published by Pathfinder. The specific copyright information for each work is included with the work itself. Pathfinder retains the right of first publication. Use and reproduction rights of any articles or abstracts on the Pathfinder website are granted for individual, non-commercial, and educational purposes only, and for electronic materials if properly cited. Otherwise, permission must be obtained from Pathfinder or the authors.
Our full copyright terms can be found in Section 4 of our Author's Agreement.
All other materials are covered by a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).