The downtown branch of the Lethbridge Public Library. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Downtown library beefs up security as drug concerns continue

Jan 14, 2020 | 10:43 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The City of Lethbridge has approved $180,000 in funding to hire an additional security guard for two years at the downtown Lethbridge Public Library branch.

The money will come from the city’s reserves.

The library’s CEO Terra Plato says there was not one particular breaking point for their staff, but more of a general trend where drug use in the facility and related issues were becoming more and more common.

“I guess staff just gets to a point where they want to see that the city, the library board, the library management, is taking their concerns seriously. We did see an increase in incidents in the last few months in 2019 in the library so that really spurred us to take a really hard look at how our security model is working.”

The plan is to have three security guards at all times while the library is open, two of which will be staged at their two public entrances.

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Plato explains that they are not looking to “gentrify” the library by kicking out anyone deemed “undesirable”, but rather, ensure they are able to keep tabs on everyone who is coming in and to stop those who have been specifically banned from the library from entering. They will also be able to deal with any incidents as they happen.

While the library board does get visits from The Watch program, she says occasional visits are not adequate, which is why they need people to be there full-time.

At Monday’s city council meeting, council voted unanimously to approve the funding, which will add one additional guard for a period of two years. Councillors Blaine Hyggen and Joe Mauro were not in attendance.

Council heard from Plato that if they voted no, they might have to consider reducing the library’s hours of operation, which could impact the various programs they offer, particularly ones in the evenings.

Councillor Mark Campbell believed it was a reasonable request that could make a substantial difference in terms of safety and comfort for users of the library.

Councillor Belinda Crowson added that measures like this are specifically why they put money aside into reserves.

“We’re very pleased that council found it necessary or important to fund this because that means we won’t have to cut back out hours to fund the additional security that’s needed,” says Plato.

After the two year period has wrapped up, the library board and city council will asses how things have changed and what is needed going forward.