Confronting "That Guy": Addressing Patron-Driven Sexual Harassment in Virtual Reference

A bibliography of Joseph Conrad. The competition records of female Kazakh tennis players. The phone book. What do these queries have in common? Library workers reported that these questions were all submitted to libraries across the country, not for information, but for sexual gratification through the act of reference service. This is a form of harassment unique to librarians: unlike workplace harassment from colleagues, patrons who harass staff — particularly by phone or chat — often face no consequences. Patrons in the physical space can be asked to leave, barred, or even arrested depending on the level of offense; but even here, our strategies for handling inappropriate interactions seem insufficient to meet the psychological damage of "dealing with creeps." The result is an ongoing cycle of boundary violations, leaving staff without closure and with little institutional support.

This 90-minute panel and interactive workshop will bring together frontline librarians and administrators to examine patron-driven sexual harassment in virtual spaces. Attendees will explore case studies, learn immediate strategies for handling inappropriate interactions, and discuss how managers can support staff well-being after incidents. Together, participants will consider how libraries can craft policies and practices that protect employees while maintaining equitable patron service. Attendees will leave with practical tools, shared language, and a sense of solidarity in confronting "That Guy."

Learning Objectives

After attending this webinar, attendees will:

• Be able to identify forms of patron-initiated sexual harassment in reference services and their psychological impacts on staff.
• Be able to practice strategies for documenting, de-escalating, and responding to harassment during live patron interactions.
• Be able to draft or adapt policy language that supports staff safety and well-being while maintaining equitable patron access.

About the Instructors

Jennifer Goodland is the Technical Services Librarian at San Juan College in Farmington, New Mexico, and Chief Academic Officer for Open Instructional Narratives, a library services company. She began her library career in 1996 at the University of Denver and has since held roles in library IT, special collections, periodicals, and library administration, including work with the United Nations, Elsevier, Auraria Campus, and Lamar Community College. Jennifer’s professional focus spans data integration services, bibliometrics, and operations streamlining, but she is equally invested in frontline challenges such as staff safety and equitable service design. With experience ranging from library director to technical services, she brings a broad systems perspective to the realities of reference work and the urgent need for guidance around patron-driven sexual harassment. Jennifer's hobbies include horse training, running a Nightvale-themed Christmas village, and uncovering criminal conspiracies from the 1800s.

Becca Greenstein (she/they) is the STEM Librarian at Northwestern University Libraries and liaison to Mathematics, Statistics, Biological Sciences, and Biomedical Engineering, where she works with researchers at all levels finding, organizing, evaluating, and citing resources for their research and coursework. Outside of work, they enjoy rock climbing, baking, volunteering, biking, and spoiling their cat, Helix.

Ann McIntire is Information Services Supervisor with Prince George' County Memorial Library System. She supports Information team members across branch locations by developing training, providing information resources, promoting best practices, and facilitating communication. Ann also manages the PGCMLS Ask a Librarian email service, and was the system's Ask a Librarian Call Center Supervisor from 2020 - 2025. She has served as both Librarian and supervisory Librarian III at many of PGCMLS' 19 branches since 2013. Before coming to PGCMLS, Ann was Librarian at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington DC, and her career also includes positions with the Marine Biology Laboratory Library in Woods Hole, Massachusetts; the University of Oregon's Art and Architecture Library; and the San Francisco Performing Arts Museum and Library. Ann holds an MLS from San Jose State University and is a member of the Maryland Library Association, the Public Library Association and the American Library Association. She is currently co-chair of the recently renamed Reference Services in Public Libraries committee (formerly User Services in Public Libraries), RSS, RUSA.

This event will be hosted in Zoom. Automatic captions will be enabled for this event. This event will be recorded, and registrants will receive access to the recording within a day after the event ends.