The Newmarket Public Library continues to address concerns about the safety and security of its staff, particularly with respect to the behaviour of some patrons.
Two recent disturbances at the Park Avenue branch, which involved York Regional Police laying trespassing and intoxication charges against three individuals, has left at least one library worker fearing for their safety and that of the public.
It’s an issue that’s rearing its head more and more in the library sector, particularly in winter when it’s cold outside and the library is one of the few remaining places that is free for vulnerable people with nowhere else to go, CUPE Local 905 president Katherine Grzejszczak said.
The union, which represents full and part-time workers at the local library, has been made aware of staff security concerns and there is an open and ongoing dialogue with the employer to address them, she said.
“This is not something that’s isolated to Newmarket,” Grzejszczak said. “We definitely are addressing this with (library) management and we are working with them. But, ultimately, this gets back to the bigger issue of under-housing in the region, homelessness, poverty and, increasingly, we’re seeing provincial policies that are going to exacerbate this problem instead of resolving it.”
According to the library’s November 2018 strategic operations report, an existing emergency exit is being retrofitted into a separate and secure alternative entrance for staff only. Library CEO Todd Kyle confirmed the work will be “done quite soon”.
“Staff security is very, very important to us,” Kyle said. “What we have worked on over the last couple of years is training staff to be prepared for these sort of incidents, and putting in place a protocol of how to respond.”
Staff participate in annual Centre for Addiction and Mental Health-provided training with library staff from across York Region.
In addition, a York Regional Police representative on Dec. 5 conducted a staff training seminar on how to identify and respond to certain disruptive behaviours.
“The message is always that everyone is welcome, but if the behaviour becomes disruptive, then there are protocols in place for that,” Kyle said.
A Newmarket library employee, who submitted an anonymous tip to NewmarketToday, alleges that two separate “terrible” incidents on the same day at the facility has left staff feeling “frightened”.
In an incident confirmed with York Regional Police, officers responded to a call Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2018 for “unwanted people” at the library. Two males were located in the men’s washroom and officers found “needles and drugs” at the scene.
“They were arrested but they were not in possession of any illegal drugs,” Const. Laura Nicolle said. “We responded to a trespassing and the people were given a ticket and that was it.”
The other incident involved an allegedly intoxicated man who refused to leave the library when asked. The York police real-time crime map incident report shows officers issued a ticket for intoxication in the 400-block of Park Avenue about the same time as the washroom incident at 6 p.m. on Dec. 18, 2018.
In addition to police involvement, the three individuals in question were banned from the library, from a one-year ban for two of the men to a recommended lifetime ban for the other, according to the library source.
The library’s code of conduct includes the following:
- No weapons, alcohol, and illegal drugs
- No smoking
- No abusive, threatening, disorderly, obscene or harassing language or behaviour
- No excessive noise or loud conversation
- No conduct that interferes with the general enjoyment of the facility
- Eating and drinking are permitted in designated areas only
- Children must be supervised by parents/guardians
- Shirts and shoes must be worn at all times
- Do not post any notices, distribute any material, solicit, photograph, or record video, without approval from Library staff
- Library staff reserve the right to open all bags, books and papers for inspection.
Violation of any one of these rules, or any suspected criminal behaviour, may subject the individuals involved to exclusion from the library premises under the authority of the Trespass to Property Act, in addition to referral to police and/or levy of replacement charges for damaged property.
The security protocol followed by library staff includes the ability to advocate for bans, or what the library calls an exclusion notice, for anyone who breaches the code of conduct.
Once an individual is banned for a certain period of time, which can range from a few days to a lifetime ban depending on the severity of the incident, they can face trespassing charges if caught on the premises. At any given time, there may be a handful of individuals on the banned list, Kyle said.
“We’ve used bans quite effectively. At this point, we do feel that staff have been following protocol and have managed these occasional disturbances with assistance from York Regional Police,” he added.
There are no plans to hire security personnel in 2019 and no additional funding for security is provided for in the library’s current budget request.
York police responded to about 50 calls at the library in 2018, Const. Nicolle said. Some of those incidents included trespassing, intoxication, a collision in the parking lot, and accidental dials.
“It’s not significant. It looks like they (library staff) are pretty proactive in terms of making those calls when they’re dealing with people, so that’s a positive,” said Const. Nicolle.
Health and safety has long been a concern among library workers, according to a survey of more than 500 members represented by CUPE’s British Columbia chapter.
That 2015 Library Health and Safety Report found that library workers “witness and, in many cases, are responsible for dealing with verbal threats, intoxicated patrons, drug use, theft and the viewing of explicit material. And, more than 65 per cent of respondents reported exposure to biohazards such as feces, urine, used needles and bed bugs.”
The report also acknowledged that public libraries are "a safe haven for people who are homeless or battling addictions or mental health challenges".
Library workers interact with marginalized and vulnerable populations daily and are often called upon to perform duties more commonly associated with social work, but with little or no training in skills such as conflict resolution. Sometimes situations escalate, and workers are subjected to physical or verbal violence and harassment."
For its part, union president Grzejszczak said the root of what’s happening in the libraries has to do with issues of homelessness and poverty, and the library was never meant to provide this type of service.
“As public services deteriorate, particularly the provincial policies of cutting long-overdue increases to social assistance rates, deregulation of rent which makes housing even less affordable, and cuts to mental health services, in the end, we see frontline workers providing services to communities that are increasingly being pushed into poverty and literally have no physical place to go,” she said.
