Saskatoon Public Library (SPL) is ramping up security at two of its locations as they prepare to reopen.
Last month, the Frances Morrison Central Library and Dr. Freda Ahenakew Library temporarily closed due to safety concerns.
During the closure, CEO Carol Shepstone said SPL looked at ways to enhance safety, including adding security cameras, more training for staff, and making changes to the building layouts to improve sight lines.
She said there will also be more security at the front doors of both the libraries.
Shepstone said before the closure, staff were feeling the strain of the overdose crisis.
“It was becoming really challenging in the library and really well beyond what we were equipped to deal with as a library,” Shepstone said.
The Saskatoon Fire Department responded to more than 540 overdoses since March 1, including multiple suspicious deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.
Shepstone said staff were also seeing an uptick in “challenging behaviour” including more people coming to the library intoxicated, and in some cases, people openly had “drug paraphernalia.”
The union representing Saskatoon library workers, CUPE 2669, has previously said staff have witnessed drug deals in the libraries.
Shepstone noted the increase in homelessness has also added challenges.
“Our mandate is to be welcoming and open for the entire community, and that’s still very much the case. However, we’re not a shelter,” she said.
Saskatoon’s homelessness population has nearly tripled since 2022, but the number of shelter spaces available has not changed, according to city housing manager Sarah King.
King said while the temporary shelter on Pacific Avenue recently opened, the closure of beds at the Lighthouse means there have been no additional shelter beds in recent years
“Over the past couple of years there hasn’t been an increase of shelter beds,” she said at a governance and priorities committee meeting on Wednesday.
Shepstone said issues around homelessness and addictions won’t be solved overnight, but SPL is focusing on what’s in its control.
“The goal is to have a really clear layering and robust set of changes that make it possible for us to continue in a new way,” Shepstone said.
The two libraries are set to partially reopen April 14 for holds and pickups, and will resume regular service on April 21.
