Hi Everyone,
To answer the question in the title of this blog, we, in my opinion, do not freally (always) need security guards. This is why.
Libraries are generally quiet so people can focus. I like that. Quiet works for me and I do get a bit annoyed when people talk, not whisper. I got more than a bit annoyed when I heard the toilet flushing every 10-15 seconds. Or whenever the toilets’ tank would fill with enough water so it could be flushed again, and again, and yes—again!
How the other 15 plus people didn’t hear it or could block it out fascinated me. What annoyed me was how the security guard, sitting less than 10 feet from the bathroom, could just sit there, playing or texting on his phone. I looked up a few times and noticed that he was smiling at his phone and moving around a bit in his seat.
“Hey,” I said. Everyone sitting around me looked in my direction. The security guard, sitting less than 20 feet from me, didn’t hear a thing. He couldn’t have. He was still staring into his phone with an even wider smile on his face.
“Hey, hellllloooo.” Again, everyone looked at me. “Hey, security guard,” I said with a pinch of pissed off. He looked around and saw my waving hand sitting at a desk surrounded by my belongings. “Aren’t you going to do anything about the toilet? It’s flushing every ten seconds.” Just as the last word was out, the toilet flushed again. Confused, I told him to do something. But here’s the thing. Security guards technically can’t do anything outside of telling library staff that something needs to be done. I am serious. And seriously pissed off.
Security guards in libraries are paid by the City of Toronto. Their pay comes from the library budget which buys books, provides services and pays everyone, like the librarians who have to address anything that the security guard tells them. If that wasn’t bad enough, because security guards are provided by an outside company, even if the security guard is paid $14 an hour, the company is paid more. Just for fun, let’s say that Security Guard Supply Company gets $20 an hour for every hour a security guard works, so it can do all the paper work, pay for Workman’s Compensation, CPP, EI, 4% vacation pay, health insurance and anything that I’ve missed. And then we can not forget that the City of Toronto has to pay HST to the Security Guard Supply Company because they have provided a service even though they are not legally allowed to do anything but walk around and tell a member of the library staff to do something if something needs to be done. If you don’t believe me, talk to your local Head Librarian.
The security guard did tell the supervising librarian. As he got back to his seat, another library patron spoke to him and he said smiling like he just solved all the world’s problems, “Yes, I mentioned it.” I am guessing “it” is the flushing toilet. A librarian knocked on the bathroom door in between flushes and the issue was finally taken care of.
Not long after that, I was walking to the library trying to decide which blog I should post. That conundrum was short lived. This is why. Seconds after I entered the library I looked over to see which security guard was working. I was surprised, but not shocked, to see him sleeping. Yes, you read that correctly, the security guard was slouched over because he was sleeping. After I saw the Head Librarian I told him. As I left I noticed that the security guard was sleeping—again. This time the Head Librarian spoke to him which translates into woke him up. Here is something that I remembered after I left the library. When people like security guards are outsourced, the people at the organization, in this case the library, cannot discipline them.
Just as the security guard can only tell a librarian that something needs to be addressed, a librarian can only tell the person at the company that the employs the security guard that there is a concern with the security guard. Like if he is sleeping. Sleeping security guards is a waste of money. And just for anyone who wants to know, for every dollar that a city invests in a library the average return on investment is seven dollars. That is a lot of money that each community has an opportunity to benefit from. Now do you see why I get pissed off when I see the security guard at the library sleeping. Anyway….
Since then I have paid a bit more attention to security guards. When the one at the medical centre was asleep I told the receptionist. For anyone who is interested, he was awake the last time I saw him. The security guard at a bank looked like she was getting over a five-day bender the first time I saw her. The second time she looked a bit better. At another bank, the security guard looked old enough to still believe in Santa Claus but she wasn’t. Every temporary employee or employee of an agency has to be at least 18 years of age. Which is of little comfort if something did happen and I felt like I had to protect the security guard from whatever a security guard should protect me from. If someone is getting paid to protect me that is kind of what I expect.
Thank you for reading, A. Rebel’s Rant! ;D
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