Closing Hamilton Central Library 'off the table' for now as staff look at other ways to stop on-site drug use

As it deals with the impacts of the opioid crisis, Hamilton Public Library (HPL) is eyeing more changes at its downtown Central branch. 

For now, a temporary closure of the branch is “off the table,” chief librarian Paul Takala said Friday, after raising the possibility at a board meeting earlier last week.

The board didn't support a closure and wants to look at measures that won't negatively affect so many members because of the actions of a few, Takala said.

Instead, he said, HPL might start checking people’s library cards before letting them into the branch, in an attempt to deter patrons from selling or using drugs inside. 

“We need to make sure we're not setting up unnecessary barriers for people and that the library is still a welcoming place for everyone,” but something has to change, Takala told CBC Hamilton Friday. 

“We’ve been going through a very difficult winter,” he said, adding issues such as drug use and overdoses in the library are “worse than it ever has been,” and workers are witnessing near-daily overdoses. 

Since about 2014, he said, HPL has taken steps to address drug use and overdoses, including hiring social workers, getting peer supporters at Central branch and paying security guards the local living wage.

But since 2023, the situation has worsened, Takala said. There are several possible reasons why including a dangerous drug supply, and the provincial shutdown of Hamilton’s supervised injection site. 

Central branch sees 20,000 visits a week, Takala said.

It’s connected to Jackson Square Mall and has an entrance on York Boulevard, across from an emergency shelter. On Friday, the first floor was busy with library-goers collecting books, using computers and watching the Olympics on a big screen. Groups of people huddled outside the entrance and some in the foyer. 

During the winter, Central and other branches serve as warming spaces for people who are vulnerable and unhoused. This winter has been particularly cold, drawing in people, who Takala said, might not typically use the library.

In late January, during a long stretch of extreme cold, HPL announced it would close Central on Sundays and open it an hour later every other day.

Takala said the branch couldn’t get the social service support it needed on Sundays and early in the mornings. 

Lisa Hunt works at the Waterdown branch and represents about 250 HPL staff as president of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 932.