Somerville Central Library has to shorten its operations due to fear of youth violence

Somerville Public Library staff announced on 27 August that the library headquarters will be closed from 3 September close in the hours around the Graduation time at nearby Somerville High Schooll. The step is carried out as Result of unsuccessful talks between the library management and the office of Mayor Katjana Ballantyne after Years of violent behavior by teenagers.

The headquarters, which is located next door to Gilman Square High School, is now closed on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Wednesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., if school closes early. TThe opening hours of the East and West library locations remain unchanged.

In interviews with the Daily, Central Library staff described some of the incidents that led to the decision to reduce opening hours. The librarians were granted anonymity for fear of retaliation.

According to librarians, young people Stones thrown at people leaving the library, get into physical altercations in the library And Firecrackers thrown into the building through the book slotamong other things.

In July, librarians had to intervene to prevent teenagers from attacking an adult user as he was leaving the library.

The man “was attacked outside by a group of about eight to 10 children,” a librarian said. “He came back and his face was bleeding. The youths followed him back inside, grabbed books and started throwing them at the man and the staff.”

PPolice reports confirm that the man suffered “minor injuries.”” This incident forced the library to close for the rest of the day And “changed the course of the reopening, as we expected,” said the librarian.

One day after the change in opening hours was introduced, Mayor Ballantyne visited the central branch to hear the experiences of staff and to ask for solutions that would enable the library to reopen.. Some librarians felt that Ballantyne placed too much responsibility on library staff and administration rather than proposing solutions that address the root causes of teens’ behavior.

“We were hoping the city would be open to recognizing that this was a community responsibility and not the library’s,” said one librarian. “And I don’t think they really looked at it from that perspective, which was frustrating for a lot of staff.”

In a statement to the dailyA city spokesperson wrote: “City and library staff are working closely to implement effective and lasting solutions. This includes installing cameras and hiring a social worker at the Central Library to help de-escalate problems and connect patrons of all ages with supportive services when needed.”

The Somerville City Council discussed the closures at its meeting on Thursday. Several city councilors said they learned of the closure at the same time as the public and expressed frustration with the administration’s lack of transparency.

Neha Singh, Director of Intergovernmental Affairs in the Mayor’s Office, informed the Council of the steps the administration has taken to reopen the library and mitigate the impact of the closure.

Singh declined to give a specific timetable for the Reopening of the library to the question of City Council President Ben Ewen-CampenHowever, he reiterated that the city “The goal is to reopen the library to regular opening hours as soon as possible.”

According to Singh, cameras have now been installed in the libraryAnd The city is “in the interview process” to hire for the social worker position mentioned by the city spokesman.

The mayor’s office is also working to open a new youth center in a city-owned building, but faces obstacles, including finding a suitable building and hiring the necessary staff.

Despite his frustration with the “lack of communication” from the mayor’s office in the lead-up to the library closure, Councilman Willie Burnley Jr. expressed his appreciation for the administration’s handling of the issue.

“The administration has made every effort to deal with this crisis and be considerate of how we look after public safety in the library,” he said.

The librarians stressed that they are not demanding police presence in the library.

“A lot of people didn’t want this, both in terms of the safety of the people who work here and the people who come here,” said one librarian.

“We hoped that we could experience more positive and friendly changes,” said another. “I believe it requires many solutions working together to patch as many areas as possible. … We call on the community to participate in the solutions and help us determine the next steps.”