A current library staff member says they worry about themselves, their co-workers and most of all the children using the library every day they are at work.
The staff member said they’ve personally been assaulted and threatened while on the job.
“From the moment I step out of my vehicle in the morning, I am on edge. I’m prepared for anything,” they said. “Some of my biggest fears is (one of the children) getting poked with a dirty needle.”
If the child were to be infected with a bloodbourne illness or exposed to drug residue it could be a “life sentence,” they said.
The Citizen has agreed to protect the identity of the staff member, who spoke to the Citizen on the condition of anonymity. Following the publication of two stories by the Citizen on Thursday and Friday, library staff have been instructed by management not to talk to the media and told staff will be provided with talking points to address questions by the public, the staff member said.
Out of 106 library incident reports filed by staff members between Feb. 1 to March 31, and obtained by the Citizen through a freedom of information request, 10 were categorized as “Drug Paraphernalia/ Needle Found,” seven were categorized as “Drug use,” and two were categorized as “Alcohol found.” In addition, numerous reports of people causing disturbances or acting inappropriately suggested the person or people involved were impaired by drugs or alcohol.
One report, filed on Feb. 4, said that a staff member “discovered a large amount of needles, cooking tins, baggies, tie offs, and wipes as well as a dose of used narcan all around the parking level entrance.” While the staff member was cleaning the materials up, a mother with her young child stopped so the mother could warn the child to stay away from them.
Multiple reports over the two-month span indicated that used needles and tinfoil or other surfaces covered with apparent drug residue were found in the parking area and bathroom.
In a report from Feb. 18 drug residue was discovered on top of the toilet paper dispenser in the women’s washroom, following a wellness check on a person in the bathroom for an extended time. In an incident from March 31, a staff member was asked to check the parking lot lobby and found a woman with a meth pipe, which she tried to hide. After the woman was told to leave, the staff member found “tinfoil burnt and meth crystal residue on the concrete ledge next to where she was.”
One incident the staff person heard about involved a woman preparing a needle to inject drugs while sitting at a table in the children’s section of the library, with children all around.
The incident reports are only represent part of what is happening at the library, the library staff member said, because sometimes staff are too busy to fill out the reports.
There has been violent incidents in the library, with violence directed at both staff and library patrons, they said.
“I know that staff have been assaulted,” they said. “Fights (between library users) have broken out, both verbal and physical. Mostly not physical, but some.”
When security staff escort someone out, they are often yelling and swearing for everyone in the library to hear, they added.
“It’s definitely not safe,” they said. “They library knows, through the incident reports, what is happening. They get told multiple times a day, and still they refuse to do anything.”
The staff member said although the library is supposed to be welcoming place for everyone, keeping out people who have been banned for previous behaviour is hard because of the library’s open-door policy.
“You can’t get into Costco without showing a Costco card. The library should do something like that with library cards, or at least require picture ID,” they said.
Many of the library users who cause problems have drug or mental health issues, they said, “but that doesn’t give you the right to put other people in danger.”
SAFETY A TOP PRIORITY, LIBRARY LEADERSHIP SAYS
In a statement issued on Friday, the library’s senior management, board and union leadership said that safety for staff and patrons is a top priority.
“As outlined in the Citizen’s article of July 14th, library management have worked with staff and WorkSafe BC to implement a variety of practical safety measures over the past several years, to minimize the risk of harm to staff,” Library director Paul Burry said in the statement. “These include recruiting additional staff, adding safety equipment like portable radios and respirator masks, and providing additional training in Violence Prevention and clean-up of potentially hazardous substances.”
Prince George Public Library board chairperson Mike Gagel said being a welcoming and inclusive space is a key part of the library’s mission.
“This includes building inclusive and respectful spaces for members of marginalized or underrepresented groups,” Gagel said in the statement. “From a Board perspective, accessibility is paramount and we are working to remove and reduce all kinds of barriers to access so that everyone in our community is able to safely, and fully enjoy and benefit from what the library offers.”
Collections and interlibrary loans librarian Darcie Smith, who is the CUPE 4951 unit chair at the library and a member of the library’s joint health and safety committee, said “our focus on the Joint Health & Safety Committee is to help foster a culture that encourages library staff to bring safety concerns forward to be addressed, and to adopt improvements to the library’s policies, procedures, and other safety measures that help minimize the risks to staff and patrons.”
CUPE Local 4951 president Lily Bachand said “libraries are more than just books; they deliver front-line services in our community,” in the statement released on Friday.
“The Library and its workers continue to discuss measures to best serve our community's needs, and to uphold high standards for safety in our spaces while doing so,” Bachand added. “Workers are pleased with the Library's commitment to keeping the union and its members informed as it evolves its practices, and we will continue to work collaboratively to maximize service and safety to the public.”
Gagel declined to be interviewed by the Citizen and a request by the Citizen for comment from CUPE Local 4951 had not been returned as of Friday afternoon.
