Thunder Bay library looks to increase security after staff member assaulted

Kris Ketonen · CBC News

· Posted: May 16, 2025 12:33 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

The Thunder Bay Public Library (TBPL) volition beryllium requesting further backing from the metropolis to amended information and information aft a unit subordinate was assaulted connected late Tuesday day astatine the Brodie Street branch 

"We had a patron travel into the subdivision who had really been banned from the gathering for her behaviour successful the past, and had a nary trespass bid retired with the police," room CEO Richard Togman said. "When 1 of our unit members attempted to telephone the constabulary to person her removed from the building, she was violently attacked by that subordinate of the public."

The unit subordinate received aesculapian attention, and the Brodie Street subdivision was closed connected Wednesday arsenic a effect of the assault, giving unit a accidental to entree intelligence wellness support.

In an interrogation with CBC, Togman said the room has seen an summation successful security-related incidents including public cause use, intoxication, assaults and threats.

"We look at the archetypal 4th of this twelvemonth compared to the archetypal 4th of past year, we've got a 38 per cent rise successful the fig of incidents happening astatine the branches," helium said. "That's over 75 incidents conscionable successful the archetypal 4th of this twelvemonth alone, truthful much than 1 each azygous day."

Over the past decade, the library saw an mean of astir 225 incidents annually, Togman said. In 2024, the room saw much than 500.

Togman said portion each branches are affected, the Waverley and Brodie branches — which are located successful Thunder Bay's northbound and southbound cores respectively — are seeing the astir incidents.

"We've for, awhile, tried to grip these matters internally, hired assemblage facilitators to effort to de-escalate and mitigate immoderate of the more violent incidents," Togman said. "But astatine this point, we conscionable don't person the resources to header with what we're dealing with, and volition soon beryllium going to metropolis assembly to inquire for further backing purely for information and information upgrades astatine the library."

Those upgrades could see hiring information guards, installing amended cameras or changing the layout to let for amended show lines.

"As a system, we're trying to amended our relationships and get progressive successful immoderate of the task forces astir information and information successful the downtown cores," Togman said. "In general, we person a beauteous bully narration with the constabulary successful presumption of them responding to incidents and benignant of caring for staff. But knowing that the constabulary are already overstretched successful our city, we're not ever apical precedence and we can't ever beryllium responded to the fastest."

Togman said it is captious the library gets enactment from assembly connected this issue. 

Nicole Dalmer, adjunct prof successful societal gerontology successful the section of health, aging and nine astatine McMaster University said libraries crossed Canada are seeing an summation successful information and information incidents.

"Public libraries progressively are trying and are being asked to, I deliberation some implicitly and explicitly, to enactment arsenic these assemblage hubs," Dalmer said. "I deliberation that's due to the fact that of a effect of truthful galore societal services being cut."

"This, arsenic a consequence, brings a batch of folks to the room due to the fact that they mightiness not person elsewhere to go, whether that's seeking assistance with ... needing a washroom, needing someplace that's lukewarm oregon acold depending connected the weather, oregon conscionable not simply conscionable not having anyplace other to spell wherever there's nary anticipation of payment."

"Library workers are encountering a batch of folks who person a batch of analyzable and possibly challenging needs."

Dalmer said the contented is being discussed by the Canadian Urban Libraries Council, and wrong larger Canadian nationalist room systems. Underfunding is a large contributor to the problem, she said.

"Staff are being asked to do so much, not lone successful providing entree to accusation services and support, but acting arsenic benignant of a frontline worker," she said.

She said immoderate nationalist room systems are forming partnerships that spot societal workers brought into room branches.

"With Hamilton Public Library close now, I'm doing a survey with them to measure their caller societal enactment program," Dalmer said.

"Part clip societal workers ... person an bureau successful the cardinal branch, truthful that if someone's experiencing a infinitesimal of crisis, oregon if it's something that goes beyond the skills and capacities of the library, workers are capable to notation them close past and determination to a societal idiosyncratic who has that grooming and those skills to truly code what mightiness beryllium happening."

Margaret Demillo, president of CUPE Local 3120, which represents astir 70 workers astatine the TBPL, said the national has asked for information guards astatine branches arsenic a short-term solution, arsenic good arsenic assorted procedural and argumentation changes, to summation information astatine TBPL branches.

Demillo said the section national is going to enactment connected a run to enactment information successful libraries and is hoping to person nationalist support.

"We request it to beryllium a harmless workplace for us, and we request it to beryllium a harmless spot to sojourn for the community, truthful we're going to inquire the nationalist to enactment unit connected assembly to marque definite we person those resources."