Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Buffalo and Erie County Public Library Director John Spears says that they will be cutting their hours at the Buffalo Central Library and close at 3 p.m. on weekdays citing safety concerns.
"Over the past few months, we have seen an increase in the number and the severity of incidents here, generally after three o'clock, and we want to make sure that we can serve everyone who comes through our doors, regardless ... of who they are, how old they are," Spears said.
The incidents Spears is referring are a number of issues that occur when teenage students come to the library following normal school hours.
"We started to see a large influx of teens in the library after school, and we started having fights," Spears notes. "I don't want to either minimize or maximize this. These would occasionally just be fights between a few people. Occasionally, there'd be brawls that would involve 20 or 30 people in the library. We have had threats made against staff, we've had a tremendous amount of verbal abuse, [aimed] not just towards patrons, but towards staff."
Spears says cutting the hours is only a temporary solution. They have been in conversations for a couple weeks now with the Buffalo Peacemakers and other solutions.
"We have been looking at metal detectors. But that's just a part of this. We're looking at bringing in community organizations such as the Peacemakers that can be a part of helping to keep the situation in the library under control. They have a tremendous track record of working successfully with youth in this community," said Spears.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz posted a tweet Friday evening saying that he has been in discussion with Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and they will meet with library officials and the Mayor to create a plan which will help the library open back to normal operating hours. Spears confirms he has talked with Erie County officials.
"The ultimate hope that we have is not to chase anyone out of the library, but to take a situation that exists. And make it turn it into a positive situation where where the people who are here are actively engaged with each other, actively engaged with our staff and are utilizing the library in a positive and productive manner," said Spears.