Saskatoon libraries reduce hours after staff, guard assaulted by ‘intoxicated patrons’

Several Saskatoon libraries are reducing their hours after a scary incident which saw an employee and guard assaulted.

According to a statement from the Saskatoon Public Library, “intoxicated patrons” at the Carlyle King Library in the city’s Massey Place neighbourhood hit a staff member and physically assaulted a security guard.

“While these types of incidents are rare, the library takes each one very seriously and we’re committed to providing a welcoming, safe and harassment-free environment for library patrons, employees and contractors,” a library spokesperson said in an email.

READ MORE:

• Sask. library workers face violent incidents, harassment at work: CUPE
• Saskatoon police charge woman after ‘hate/bias-motivated offence’

“In response to a growing number of concerning incidents happening at libraries, we are instituting some changes to hours at four locations.”

Starting Monday, hours at the Frances Morrison Central Library, the Dr. Freda Ahenakew Library, the Mayfair Library and the Carlyle King Library inside the Cosmo Civic Centre where the alleged attacks took place will be reduced to 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday to Saturday. Sunday hours will remain unchanged, with the branches open from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The decision was a difficult one, the library said, but employees have relayed stories of challenges they face in the evening hours, when many social services are closed. The library was adamant that its role is not to fill in the gaps.

“Over the last few years and months, we have witnessed a reduction in community services available to Saskatoon’s most vulnerable people. At the same time, we are seeing the number of people living in difficult situations increase,” the library explained in a statement.

“We cannot fill the gaps caused by our community’s lack of critical social and health infrastructure. We can’t be a place to sleep, to store large amounts of personal belongings or to use drugs and alcohol. We can’t be the primary access to washrooms or climate-controlled environments during evening hours.

“People come to the library to find information about support services in times of need, but our employees cannot refer people to community services that are unavailable or over capacity due to a lack of resources.”

In the coming months, the library said it will engage with employees, the public, and partners at the local, provincial and national level to explore solutions that allow the Saskatoon Public Library to focus on its core mandate of providing library services.

The city is also working towards the construction of a new central library downtown. Construction on the new library at 321 Second Ave. N is expected to begin this summer, with the opening slated for 2027. The project’s total approved budget is $134 million.