Nassau County to help libraries beef up their security systems

Posted

A new emergency alert system is coming to Nassau County libraries. The Rave Panic Button, an application that provides a fast response in emergency situations, will be available for implementation in all 54 Nassau County public libraries, including the facilities in Malverne and West Hempstead.
“It’s something that people are concerned about, because we do have open doors, and anyone can just kind of walk in at any time,” said Regina Mascia, director of the West Hempstead Public Library. “Everyone on our staff worries about it, so it’s something that we have to be very aware of.”
“If it raises the comfort level for everyone at the library, then I’m all for that,” said Malverne Public Library Director Marianne Kobbe.
The app acts as a digital panic button that immediately alerts the library’s staff and local law enforcement about emergency situations.
Mascia said she would discuss implementing the emergency-response app with members of the West Hempstead Library board of trustees at their next meeting on Aug. 21. Kobbe said that the topic would be on the Malverne library’s agenda for the Sept. 17 meeting.

Nassau library boards of trustees will need to discuss and vote on the app before implementation, according to the executive director of Nassau libraries, Jackie Thresher. If approved by a library, all of the staff members will have the app on their phone to receive instant emergency notifications.
County Executive Laura Curran and Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder announced on July 30 that the county would make the system available for libraries. “Too often we see the headlines of active-shooter events,” Curran said. “A total of 188 mass shooting incidents have occurred as of July 23 of this year. One is too many.”
“The Rave app is critical in response to active-shooter situations, and will protect patrons while generating a faster response to emergencies,” Curran continued. “It does not replace 911, but will assist greatly with response time and essential monitoring of the situation.”
Mascia noted that the Rave app would be in addition to other emergency precautions at the West Hempstead library. She said that the library already has panic buttons installed throughout the building, along with several high-definition cameras.
Kobbe said that the Malverne facility has a speed-dial system that can alert the village’s Police Fepartment, and that the department’s usual response time is less than two minutes.
“Also, with a speed-dial system, we can describe the situation to the officer who answers the [call],” she said.
The app will feature more than one emergency button, Thresher explained. While the county’s priority is to counteract active-shooter situations, the app can also be used for fires, medical emergencies and other types of emergencies. An active-shooter incident would get the highest priority, she said.
“If an active shooter came to a library,” Thresher said, “every second matters.”
She also said that every library is different in terms of emergency response. The West Hempstead Public Library, for example, is a two-story building. Someone on the second floor might not know about an emergency in the basement, so the app could quickly alert all library staff, Thresher said. Employees who were not in the building would also be notified so they could avoid walking into a dangerous situation.
“The Rave application will assist the Nassau County police in the event of an incident which requires emergency response by its police officers and medics,” Ryder said. “When a school or library can immediately contact the police, it can decrease our response time, which will be of great benefit when seconds are crucial.”
Have an opinion about library security? Send your letter to the editor at ngrant@liherald.com.