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Security Components Stack
Up For Queens Library System
Jamaica, New York
The quiet of a library is the
last place you'd expect disorder to occur, but as
violence escalates in the workplace and throughout
our society, several dramatic hostage-taking and
gunshot incidents have shattered that peaceful image.
These situations and the potential for theft or
vandalism demand a comprehensive security program
as an integral part of any major library system.
In the Queens Borough Public Library, an integrated
system has been developed from an array of various
components and subsystems that work together to
provide security control, deterrent presence, and
management information.
Nation's Largest Circulating
Library
The Queens Borough Public Library
has had the highest circulation of any city library
system in the U.S. each year since 1986, with a
1994 circulation of 13.6 million. Physically, it
is the fifth largest public library system in the
country, serving a borough population of 1.95 million
from a central library and 62 branches. Some 7.6
million visitors come to these facilities annually.
An autonomous system, the library is guided by a
19-member Board of Trustees appointed by the major
of New York and the Queens borough president.
To protect the people and property that make up
this system and its users, a security system has
been developed that will meet both current and future
needs. The system has been in operation for almost
two years and incorporates monitoring, access control,
and information storage. Based at the Central Library
in Jamaica, New York, the system monitors all 62
branch locations, providing instant information
and control.
Because the library is a free public facility, any
resident can use it. With a highly diverse population,
the possibility of misunderstandings is higher.
Homeless and emotionally disturbed people also have
a right to use the library, so the risk of incidents
is greater. Under these conditions, the deterrent
effect of visible security components is helpful
in avoiding or minimizing many of these possibilities.
 Chexit
controlled exit devices
on exit doors provide a safe way out in an emergency
while maintaining security. A 15-second delay allows
security response, yet does not prevent usage when
necessary. Alarm can be de-activated temporarily
with keyswitch or card reader.
Video Monitoring and
Recording
Basic to the system is a thorough
closed-circuit television (CCTV) monitoring and
recording capability. A total of 96 Konica FC-6
CCTV cameras are located strategically around the
Central Library facility, where they help provide
a visible deterrent while they gather information.
Image quality from the cameras is excellent. While
these are black-and-white versions, eventual plans
call for conversion to color as a means of displaying
greater detail. Currently, because the GYYR VCRs
operate around the clock, all year long, they are
sent out on a rotating basis for refurbishing, at
25 percent the cost of a new unit. A spare VCR is
installed to cover the position while a unit is
out, typically for three days.
Images from the 96 cameras are recorded, 16 to the
screen, on six VCRs. Input from each group of 16
cameras is handled by a Robot MV96 Multivision Plus
digital picture processor, which feeds the images
to both a VCR and a video monitor. When necessary,
the viewing pattern can be switched quickly to display
only nine or four cameras on a screen when checking
a particular situation or location. This does not
interfere with the continuous recording of information
from all cameras, however.
Employee Identification
and Access Monitoring
The employee identification
system is integrated with the card access system,
so only one badge/card is required. Laminated identification
cards for the approximately 1500 employees and others
who require regular access are made internally,
using a Polaroid ID 3000 system. The cards are also
encoded with a magnetic strip for the card readers
that activate electric strikes and allow access
through controlled doors.
The PC-based system stores an employee's photo and
dossier. When necessary, the person's photo can
be displayed quickly on the computer screen at a
security station. This is useful for verifying identification
if a person forgets his or her card or if someone
is suspected of using another person's card. The
card access system itself is Checkpoint's 4400 version.
Access control monitoring is handled by computerized
alarm-monitoring central station from Security Information
Systems, Inc. It runs on a 386 PC, and periodic
software upgrades are provided as part of an annual
service contract. The computer, with 8 mb of memory,
has sufficient capacity and speed to process the
volume of data quickly.
The computer records can be used together with video
recordings from CCTV cameras to confirm information
or serve as evidence in employee disputes or criminal
investigations.
Presently, the system is not used for recording
time and attendance, although modules are available
for this purpose. This could be implemented in the
future, after the complete system is operating in
all library branches. The combination of computer
printout and video record with time and date stamp
is a powerful management tool for resolving disputes,
minimizing employee claims, and deterring poor employee
practices such as tardiness and malingering. At
the same time, making employees aware of the added
safety and security it provides helps them to accept
the constant monitoring that is inherent in such
a system.
Reports can be generated with data sorted by employee
if a problem occurs, as well as by other parameters
such as date and location. When the computer memory
is full, the data is stored permanently on disks
for future reference. Alarm functions are handled
by Ademco security systems, including 685 alarm
receiver, XMPT-2 alarm panel, and programmer software.
View of security control
center shows six monitors at left, which can handle
images from 96 CCTV cameras at 16 per screen. On
shelves below are VCRs that record camera input,
while processors on shelf at left rear (above chair)
manage the images and direct input to both VCRs
and monitors.
Door Control
For the two buildings that make
up the Central Library facility, some 70 doors are
monitored. Of particular interest are the many emergency
exit doors that are normally kept locked but must
be allowed quick egress in a fire or other emergency.
Normally, this poses a dilemma, since keeping the
door locked would restrict or prevent exiting, while
hardware such as a standard exit device could also
allow someone to block the door open or breach security
in various other ways. For these locations, Von
Duprin Chexit controlled exit devices are installed.
These sound an alarm and require a 15-second delay
before they will allow a person to exit under normal
circumstances. This provides enough time to check
the monitors for CCTV coverage and initiate a security
response, as well as deterring unauthorized users.
In a fire, the devices are wired into the fire alarm
system to open immediately, however. For authorized
users, the alarm and delay functions can be deactivated
temporarily by card access or with a key. Exterior
emergency exit doors generally have no hardware
on the outside, and the devices relock automatically
so people cannot re-enter.
The Chexit devices also are used on various interior
doors, such as those on fire stairwells, to prevent
unauthorized use and eliminate the possibility of
people wandering or hiding in areas where they shouldn't
be. For those doors where employees need to gain
access, particularly outside of normal library hours,
Von Duprin electric strikes are also used. From
the outside, these permit card access to authorized
users while maintaining the security of the opening.
With the card access system, the need for keys is
minimized, and removing someone from the system
is easier and less costly than with keys. While
there will still be areas where keys are needed,
this is expected to decrease as the card access
system is fully phased into the system's 63 facilities.
More Capabilities
As the components of the system
have become more fully integrated, a security operator
can do a patrol without leaving the console. It
can be set up to automatically dial up the various
branches in the system and cycle through a scan
of the cameras. If the operator sees anything amiss,
he or she can take over control and pan or tilt
the camera to investigate further before taking
action. Information is transmitted to the Central
Library security console via standard voice-grade
telephone lines and requires no special wiring.
Another example of how the system works together
is the protection it would provide in a holdup or
hostage situation. Employees at checkout desks,
where fines and fees are collected, have access
to a silent-alarm holdup button or pendant. When
activated, it trips the Telsite CSS-41 and switches
to the camera covering the area and transmits by
telephone company lines to the security console.
This enables the operator to discuss the situation
with the police and describe the circumstances accurately,
providing an inside view that would be especially
helpful in hostage situations.
In an emergency or special situation, the card access
system could be operated by modem from a remote
location. If a new employee had a problem unlocking
a series of doors, for example, a superior could
take control of the system by modem and clear up
the problem.
Further emergency preparedness is provided by a
combination of a battery backup and generator. In
a power failure, the battery backup would maintain
the system status briefly until the emergency generator
could come on-line.
One measure of the system's success is a marked
reduction in burglaries. Before it was installed,
an average of 10 to 12 burglaries per year were
committed at library system facilities. The most
recent fiscal year netted only one burglary, and
nothing was taken.
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