Saskatoon's downtown library beefing up security, adding other safety measures before reopening

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 10, 2025 1:52 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

A brace of Saskatoon room branches are acceptable to reopen with beefed up security.

Last month, the Francis Morrison Library downtown and Dr. Freda Ahenakew Library successful Riversdale unopen down for a month. Both are scheduled to reopen Monday, April 14, for radical to prime up items connected clasp and past afloat reopen the pursuing Monday, April 21.

The announcement of the closures past period said unit could nary longer supply "safe and effective" services successful the look of an summation successful homelessness and a spike successful overdoses.

"We saw a existent influx of individuals who were coming successful intoxicated and dealing with other, I think, challenges astir grief successful the community, and behavioural issues, and it was becoming truly challenging to negociate and good beyond the scope and mandate of the nationalist library," Saskatoon Public Library CEO Carol Shepstone said.

"I deliberation what we were seeing passim the full assemblage was important strain connected the strategy astir supporting those dealing with homelessness arsenic good arsenic the opioid poisoning and cause overdose crisis."

Shepstone said the libraries will person beefed up security, particularly astatine the entrances, erstwhile they reopen.

"That's truly dealing with folks coming done the doorway to marque definite that immoderate of the challenging behaviours and immoderate of the astir challenging incidents don't hap successful the library, that we've dealt with them astatine the doorway earlier folks travel in," Shepstone said.

The libraries person besides added information cameras, provided much grooming for staff and made carnal changes to the layout for amended show lines, she said.

"I would accent for everyone successful the community, the room remains a welcoming and harmless place," Shepstone said. "And we've truly taken these measures to marque definite that we tin proceed to connection the services and the programs and invited folks that everyone feels invited and safe."

When the 2 libraries closed connected March 21, Michelle Pharis, president of the Canadian Union for Public Employees Local 2669, told CBC that unit were not trained to grip progressively unsafe situations happening successful immoderate libraries.

"The cause poisoning, the accrued incidents, the information that constabulary and exigency services who we number connected are stretched beyond thin, we cannot supply room services nether the conditions that are occurring successful this metropolis close now," Pharis said.

A caller downtown room is presently nether operation connected Second Avenue and scheduled to unfastened successful 2027.

Shepstone said some of the problems with the existent room person been addressed successful the plan for the caller one.

"We've looked astatine information and information arsenic portion of that plan from the precise start," she said.

"So I'm truly optimistic and excited astir the changes that volition beryllium built into that installation successful this regard."