Visitors to the Hamilton Central branch who don’t have a library card or get a special temporary pass will be turned away.

The Hamilton Public Library Board approved the policy change in an 8-2 vote at a meeting Wednesday night.

This change comes after weeks of discussion about safety and public access at the busy downtown branch. 

Chief librarian Paul Takala said it had been a “very difficult winter” at the branch, with workers witnessing near-daily overdoses and drug dealing inside. He said something needed to change and, at one point, floated the idea of temporarily closing the branch, before taking that idea off the table. 

Instead, Takala pitched a check-in system in which patrons will have to show their library cards or a temporary pass to get in between March 16 and May 17. The idea, he told CBC Hamilton last month, was that people will be less likely to break the law or library rules if staff know who they are.

Per a two-month pilot outlined in a report, library workers will check in visitors with security guards and peer support workers present. Patrons will scan their cards, show ID and sign up for one, or get a temporary pass if they’re visiting the city.  

The library offers a low-barrier card option for people without ID that requires a letter from a shelter, a student card or a utility bill.

The Hamilton Public Library (HPL) will keep a suspended members list and the library will turn people away if they’re on it.

Workers’ union ‘very upset’ with new system

The union representing about 250 HPL staff is “very upset” with the pilot, Lisa Hunt, president of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local (CUPE) 932 told CBC Hamilton Thursday.

CUPE 932 spoke before the board Wednesday night, calling the response “misguided.” CBC Hamilton viewed a copy of the unions’ delegation. It said card checks are discriminatory and put workers at risk of verbal abuse and tense interactions with angry library members. 

The union said it worried about the pilot becoming a standard practice and has suggested other responses such as ensuring there are always managers on site at the branch.

“Our concerns outlined in our delegation to the Library Board fell on deaf ears and little focus was placed on worker safety,” Hunt said in a text message. “Daily, library workers are already put in a precarious position to manage challenging behaviours in the space and putting this protocol in puts another point of friction to an already tenuous situation.”

They also said the policy was created without “meaningful consultation,” from workers. 

In February, Hunt noted libraries nation-wide are dealing with the effects of the opioid crisis and said workers are hurting along with the community they serve. 

“I’d just like the members of the public to know the library is there for everyone in the community. Sometimes that is a balancing act, and we as workers are doing the best we can,” Hunt said at the time.

HPL’s Central branch, which sees 20,000 visitors a week, is connected to Jackson Square Mall and has an entrance on York Boulevard, across from an emergency shelter. During the winter, it and other branches serve as warming spaces for people who are vulnerable and unhoused. 

The HPL board also passed a motion asking the library to send a letter to the mayor, councillors and local MPPs saying the pilot is an emergency measure, the library needs resources, and senior leadership should meet with the union and other community organizations to explore other supports.

Nick Kondrat, the HPL spokesperson, told CBC Hamilton the library will soon share more details about the new policy.