Sault Public Library to review policies as safety issues emerge following recent incident

A security situation at the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library's downtown branch prompted an investigation by Ontario's Ministry of Labour.

Although no orders have been issued by the ministry, the library's board will be reviewing its safety protocols.

CEO Matthew MacDonald said there was an incident last month in which a person was found sleeping outside the main doors of the James L. McIntyre Centennial Library.

MacDonald said in situations like that, the procedure is to approach the person and perform a wellness check.

"If they need any resources, information about where the local shelters are, and then we would provide that information to them and then we let them know that they can't sleep on the library grounds," he said.

"Unfortunately, on Sept. 11, staff did approach an individual and they became very agitated."

MacDonald said the situation escalated to a point where staff barred the person from entering the library. The incident led a complaint to the Ministry of Labour.

"It was not clear that all workers knew where the keys to the doors were located, how to lock the doors, who makes the decision to lock doors, and what the employer's expectations were about how to deal with clients during violence incidents," the ministry said in its initial report.

Earlier this year, the library decided to lock its public washrooms in an effort to deter drug use. MacDonald said that approach has not been entirely successful.

"I did have to speak to an individual within the last week who was trying to inject underneath the stairwell," he said.

"Unfortunately those activities are still happening."

He said staff are becoming increasingly concerned about their safety. MacDonald said the board will be conducting a review of library policies.

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"There were some recommendations on how we can improve and be a little bit more responsive when incidents are occurring," he said.

"We certainly meet our minimum standard of making sure that staff and the public are safe here, but we want to do more than just meet the minimum standard."

The library board will be approaching city council to ask for additional funds to pay for added security measures.