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Two Saskatoon library branches, closed to the public since March 22, will start the process of re-opening to the public today.
The downtown Frances Morrison and the 20th Street Dr. Freda Ahenakew public libraries were closed after a sharp increase in public safety and staff concerns and a rise in the number of drug overdoses both inside and outside the buildings.
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So far this year there have been at least 48 drug overdoses or poisonings at the two locations, nearly double the number during the same time in 2024.
Carol Shepstone, Director and CEO of Saskatoon Public Libraries, said there was a rapid increase in what she called “challenging behaviour.”
“And we were experiencing an incredibly stretched system across the city, so first responders were obviously stretched trying to respond to the health crisis, as well as many community organizations.”
That meant urgent action in areas the SPL could control, temporarily closing the doors to two branches.
Since then, there have been a multitude of personnel and physical space changes in the libraries. They include improving sight lines by removing walls, managing washrooms differently, adding sensors, cameras and mirrors and preserving the children’s washrooms for caregivers and children only.
“We’ve looked at changes to the physical entrances … around stationing guards and greeters to really help monitor patrons as they’re coming into the facility to make sure that if there’s any issues, we’re dealing with those before folks come inside,” she said.
There’s also new signs around their safe use and conduct bylaws that Shepstone believes will go a long way to help manage and monitor problematic behaviour.
Two more temporary security guards have been hired and staff have also received additional de-escalation and “situational” training, role and communication clarification, and public services training.
Shepstone said the steps they’ve taken should address the issues they’re currently facing.
“We’ve made some really positive changes and improvements and I’m very confident this will be a visible change in the experience.”
They’ll also monitor what’s working and what’s not.
Contactless pickup will be available today, while both branches will re-open their doors to the public on April 21.
It’s not the first time that SPL has taken action to keep both staff and patrons safe. In April 2024, four branches including Frances Morrison and Dr. Freda Ahenakew, limited their hours for a period of time as well.
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