Hilarious training video by the King County Library System in Washington. What is the proper response when you discover your patrons viewing … BUNNIES on the internet?! Take this video’s advice. Consult your policy and respond appropriately to the situation. Do not threaten or humiliate your patron.
The video implied that bunnies = porn. Our policy is direct: porn is not permitted, and the patron will be asked to leave. The situation becomes murkier though when the patron is viewing something borderline and insists that it’s for research (actual situation in my library). The patron was manipulating an image for a Photoshop class that she was taking at the local college. She doesn’t have access to a computer at home. I hesitate to infringe on the patron’s right to perform research, but I dislike a situation where the other patron is offended by the suspect image. I’ve also backed down in those situations.
Otherwise, this is a great learning tool. It’s funny and memorable. The beginning is great. I think the second half of the video lags a little. I also thought that their example librarian was a little too deferential. I hope that I’d handle the situation differently. I would love to make something like this for my library.