Drug use incidents jump at downtown Sarnia Library, more security eyed

With incidents of illegal drug use rising at the downtown Sarnia Library, Lambton County Library officials warn they may ask for funding in 2025 to double security at the site.

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The county library has taken steps in recent years to improve security at its busiest branch, including adding security guards in 2022. Initially, that led to a drop in reported incidents, including drug use, a report says.

“With the recent development of an encampment in nearby Rainbow Park, the number of incident reports at Sarnia Library are on an upward trend,” the report says.

“The occurrence of illegal drug use has doubled from 2022 in this year alone, with five months of the year still remaining to report,” it says.

There have been 20 reports of illegal drug use at the branch located at the corner of Christina and Wellington streets year-to-date, compared to five in 2023 and 11 in 2022.

Overall, there have been an average of 11 security incidents a month there this year.

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Along with illegal drug use, the list of incidents includes threatening and abusive language and behavior, other illegal activity, theft, assault, vandalism and others.

“They did dip for a while but now they’re tracking up again,” county library manager Darlene Coke said.

Given its location, the library sees a large number of individuals seeking shelter from the weather, as well as access to electricity, public washrooms and free internet, the report says.

That includes those experiencing homelessness, addiction and “complex mental health,” the report says.

“Libraries are, of course, a really important county resource for so many people for so many different reasons,” Coke said.

The county library spends $100,000 a year on security guards at the Sarnia site and adding another guard would double the cost, the report says.

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“We still have lots of people visiting the library,” Coke said. The number of items borrowed by patrons has grown this year and the number of individuals attending library events and programs is “nearly identical” to last year, she said.

“It’s just that in reviewing incident reports, we do have a larger number than normal,” particularly illegal drug use, Coke said. “It just sometimes can provide some extra challenges to us.”

Those challenges “are something that staff are carefully navigating and we’re trying to ensure they’ve got the resources to be able to handle those situations,” Coke said.

Since 2017, that has included adding video surveillance, zero tolerance for violence, harassment or illegal activity and issuing trespass notices when rules are violated, the report says.

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“We’re open and available and accessible to all people, however the caveat to that is we do expect, and ask, that people follow rules of conduct” so “the library is an enjoyable place for everyone to be,” Coke said.

Other steps taken include panic buttons for staff, procedures for workers leaving at closing time in the evening, an exterior needle disposal bin maintained by Lambton Public Health, plus staff training and resources related to homelessness and mental health.

The decision to add security guards in 2022 came because “our staff were spending less time doing library work and more time dealing with rules of conduct interactions,” Coke said.

Now, security staff “handle those kinds of conversations, or the disruptions that sometimes might happen,” for reasons that include illegal drug use, she said.

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“A lot of it is called for medical assistance and navigating” those incidents with paramedics or police, Coke said. “That frees up library staff to do what they’re really there for.”

If the library does end up asking county council for funding in the 2025 budget for additional security guards, that would help provide coverage during building and security sweeps, the report says.

Library officials wanted to bring the issue to council’s attention early, Coke said. “If this trajectory continues, we may need to implement some more solutions.”

Other steps being taken include limiting public washroom use to 20 minutes and conducting wellness checks every 10 minutes. The county has also asked the city, which owns and maintains the building, to add a fence around an outdoor area next to windows in the children’s library.

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