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Updated 2026
Focus Areas!
Library Professional Development

AACT-Now! Making Libraries Safer and Better Places to Be

On-site workshops, seminars, and consulting designed specifically for the unique pressures facing public library staff and leadership today. We come to you — wherever your team is.
Patron De-escalation
Burnout & Resilience
Book Challenge Response
Mental Health & Homelessness
Staff Safety
Difficult Conversations
Boundary Setting
Updated 2026
Focus Areas!
Library Professional Development

AACT-Now! Making Libraries Safer and Better Places to Be

On-site workshops, seminars, and consulting designed specifically for the unique pressures facing public library staff and leadership today. We come to you — wherever your team is.
Burnout & Resilience
Book Challenge Response
Mental Health & Homelessness
Staff Safety
Difficult Conversations
Boundary Setting
Limited 2026 dates remaining: Sept 14 – Oct 2 — edmond@edmondotis.com · 904.595.7436
About AACT-Now!

Training for Library & Information Professionals

Public libraries are no longer simply places to borrow books. They have become front-line community spaces where staff encounter a breadth of human need, conflict, and political pressure that few other professions face. AACT-NOW training addresses these realities directly — and speaks your language from the first minute.
AACT-NOW provides cutting edge training workshops and seminars proven to help managers, supervisors, and staff improve their workplace communication skills, fine-tune conflict management strategies, and establish well-defined workplace safety and resilience techniques.
Sometimes nothing is as challenging as working with the public — or with certain colleagues. AACT-NOW programs teach proven, practical skills that make the job easier. A lot easier. Our programs address your issues head on, making your workplace safe and sane.
The AACT-Now! Framework

Four Key Areas. One Proven Approach.

Our training seminars focus on four interconnected pillars. This approach is proven to keep morale high, stress low, conflict at a minimum, and improve interoffice relationships — resulting in a healthier, more productive workplace where turnover is minimised and teamwork is optimised.
A

Awareness

Understanding yourself, your colleagues, and the situations you face — before they escalate.
A

Attitude

Developing the mindset and emotional resilience to stay grounded under sustained pressure.
C

Communication

Persuasive, calm, principled communication skills that work in even the most charged situations.
T

Training

Real, transferable skills you can apply the next time you need them — at the desk or in a meeting.
The Reality of Library Work Today

The Struggles Your Staff Face — Every Single Day

AACT-NOW training doesn’t use generic workplace scenarios. Every program is built around the specific pressures library staff actually encounter.
Click here for past participant feedback
⚠️

Patron Violence & Aggression

Research shows that nearly 70% of library workers have experienced violent or aggressive patron behavior. Verbal abuse, physical intimidation, and threats are no longer rare — they are an occupational reality that demands preparation.
🏠

Homelessness & Mental Health Crises

Libraries have become de facto day shelters and crisis centers. Staff regularly interact with patrons experiencing homelessness, addiction, and acute mental illness — without the training or backup that social workers receive.
🔥

Burnout & Emotional Exhaustion

The relentless emotional labor of serving vulnerable populations, absorbing patron trauma, and managing conflict takes a profound toll. Burnout, compassion fatigue, and staff turnover have reached critical levels across the profession.
📚

Book Challenges & Political Pressure

Coordinated censorship campaigns have made collection defense a frontline job skill. Staff face protests, public confrontations, and hostile meetings — often without adequate institutional support.
⚖️

Legal Exposure & Changing Legislation

New state laws are placing librarians at personal legal risk for materials in their collections. Staff need to understand their rights, their institution’s policies, and how to respond to demands calmly and correctly.
💸

Understaffing & Wage Stagnation

Funding cuts and real-terms salary decreases mean fewer staff absorb more pressure. Working short-staffed while managing complex patron situations accelerates burnout and creates serious safety gaps.

"All AACT-NOW Library Professional Development seminars are delivered in person, on-site at your library or library system. We come to you — and we speak your language."

Built for Libraries

Presentations Tailored to Your Needs

Generic workplace training rarely accounts for the open-door policy of a public library, the range of patrons staff encounter, or the political climate that has made librarianship one of the most contested professions in America.
All AACT-NOW presentations are customized through a collaborative process before delivery. We invest time learning the specific demographics of your community, the nature of the incidents your staff face, and the institutional culture of your library system — so the training resonates from the first minute.
Presentations are flexible to audience size, format, and venue. After our initial presentation, we offer intermediate and advanced follow-up training and can train internal staff to become ongoing mentors — keeping the skills alive across all branches.
  • 45–60 minute conference & staff meeting addresses
  • 90-minute to 2-hour small group sessions
  • Half-day and full-day seminar trainings
  • Multi-session leadership retreats
  • Train-the-trainer programs for internal mentors
  • All sessions delivered in person — we travel to your location
Why Library-Specific Training Matters
68.5%
of library workers have experienced violent or aggressive patron behavior
72%
of book challenges come from organized political groups, not individual community members
18%
of public libraries lost staff positions in the past 12 months
10%
annual workforce loss rate in librarianship between 2020–2022
2026 Workshop Focus Areas

Programs Tailored for Library Staff & Leadership

Each workshop can be delivered as a standalone training or combined into a comprehensive professional development program for your library system.
Workshop 01

Dealing with Difficult Patron Interactions: Staying Safe, Calm, and Effective

From agitated rule-breakers to patrons in crisis, this workshop equips staff with proven de-escalation techniques, communication strategies, and clear decision trees for when to engage, when to set limits, and when to call for help. Includes role-play scenarios drawn from real library environments.
Format: One-hour address · 90-min session · Half or full-day
Workshop 02

Applied Resilience for Library Professionals: From Surviving to Thriving

The constant emotional labor of library work — serving people in crisis, absorbing hostility, managing political conflict — wears staff down. This workshop provides practical resilience tools drawn from trauma-informed practice, helping staff protect their wellbeing while continuing to serve their communities.
Format: One-hour address · 90-min session · Half or full-day
Workshop 03

Talking It Over: Confident Communication in Charged Situations

Whether facing an angry patron demanding a book’s removal, a community member at a public board meeting, or a colleague in conflict, library staff need persuasive, calm, and principled communication skills. This workshop teaches staff exactly how to hold difficult conversations — and come out of them intact.
Format: One-hour address · 90-min session · Half or full-day
Workshop 04

Stress Management for Library Workers: Skills for Here, There, and Everywhere

Understaffing, political hostility, patron crises, and wage pressure combine into a uniquely stressful professional environment. This workshop delivers immediately applicable stress management techniques that work in the moment — at the reference desk, in a difficult meeting, or at the end of a long shift.
Format: One-hour address · 90-min session · Half or full-day
Workshop 05

Setting Boundaries with Patrons, Protesters, and Colleagues

Library staff are trained to serve — not to set limits. But without clear, confident boundaries, staff safety and wellbeing erode quickly. This workshop reframes boundary-setting as a professional skill, teaching staff how to enforce library policy, respond to book challengers, and protect their own limits without compromising service values.
Format: One-hour address · 90-min session · Half or full-day
Leadership Add-On

Continuing the Work: Train Your Trainers

After any initial AACT-NOW delivery, we offer intermediate and advanced follow-up sessions and can train internal library staff to become ongoing mentors and trainers. These internal champions keep the skills alive, extend the program’s reach across branches, and sustain a culture of safety and resilience.
Format: Customised multi-session program
Limited 2026 dates remaining: Sept 14 – Oct 2 — edmond@edmondotis.com · 904.595.7436

AACT-Now Developer and Presenter —
Edmond Otis

Edmond Otis is an international speaker, trainer, and licensed psychotherapist specializing in conflict resolution, resilience, and interpersonal communication. He has worked with library systems across the United States — from large urban systems like San Francisco and Los Angeles to small rural libraries — helping staff safely and confidently handle difficult, challenging, and potentially volatile interpersonal situations.
Edmond holds a uniquely practical background. A licensed psychotherapist and author, he was a senior faculty member and Director of Martial Arts at the University of California, Riverside — twice recipient of the University Distinguished Teaching Award — and later a senior lecturer in Health and Sport Science at the Eastern Institute of Technology in New Zealand, where he also consulted with corporations and government Ministries of Health, Education, and Sport.
Additionally, Edmond is a lifelong practitioner and internationally recognized instructor in traditional karate, and has coached numerous individuals and teams to national and international championships. This blended expertise gives him rare, real-world insight into how people think, react, and behave under pressure — and how to prepare effectively for a broad range of challenges.
Edmond’s approach is direct, practical, and immediately applicable. Participants leave with concrete skills and strategies they can put to use the same day. He now divides his time between Australia and the US, focusing on speaking, training, and consulting.

Ready to Support Your Team?

Contact us to schedule a workshop, discuss your library system’s specific needs, or learn more about speaking and coaching engagements.
GET IN TOUCH
+1 904 595 7436