After Another Library Suicide, NYU Considers Security Changes
Barriers installed after 2003 deaths apparently were not deterrent
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 11/4/2009
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- Elevators operated though stacks were closed
- Now elevators will shut off
- Two deaths in library in 2003
After a suicide yesterday at New York University’s (NYU) Bobst Library the university is adding security measures to deter anyone who might consider jumping from a high floor. Andrew Williamson-Noble, apparently suffering from depression, fell or jumped from the 10th floor at 4:30 a.m yesterday morning. Though library stacks had closed at 1 a.m., elevators still operated 24/7, reported Washington Square News (WSN).
Now, however, elevators in the library will shut off after 1 a.m. and the library stacks will close at midnight instead of 1 a.m., spokesman John Beckman told LJ. "This is the kind of thing that prompts us to stop and review the practices that we have in place," Beckman added. (The university also reminded students of the Wellness Exchange, a counseling service.)
In 2003, there were two deaths as students jumped or fell from high floors at Bobst, prompting the university to install Lexan panels around balconies and staircases in the library. Now, Beckman told WSN, the university will review the performance of the panels as well as security procedures. Students told reporters that it would not be easy to get through or over the eight-foot-high barriers.
