Visits up at Winnipeg libraries, but so are security incidents, report says

Winnipeg libraries received hundreds of thousands more visits than a year ago, but staff and visitor safety remains a concern, according to a new city report.

Library attendance rose by 17 per cent — from about 1.26 million visits to 1.46 million — in the nine months between October last year and June, compared to the same period a year ago, the report says.

But there were also 1,139, security incidents across all categories, up from 986 the year before — a 16 per cent increase.

However, the report notes that while the total number of incidents is up, so is the number of visits — meaning the percentage of incidents compared to library visits "remains similar to the previous year," it says.

Those numbers come from a quarterly report set to go to the city's community services committee next week. The city ordered the quarterly attendance and incident reports to track the impact of security enhancements that were brought in after a fatal 2022 stabbing inside the Millennium Library.

The city has budgeted millions of dollars to increase library staff and safety measures.

The 2024 budget added 14 full-time equivalent staff positions and boosted library spending by $5.9 million, including money for increased salaries and benefits and safety improvements across the library system.

Despite the overall year-over-year increase in security incidents, the rise in visits suggests "that the model is working," said Coun. Vivian Santos (Point Douglas), chair of the community services committee.

The presence of community safety hosts, who are trained in de-escalation, and the addition of more security guards have improved safety, Santos said.

"That means people are attending our libraries and feeling confident that they can attend."

Numbers no cause for celebration: union

About half of the incidents for the latest reporting period happened at the downtown Millennium Library — down from about two-thirds during the October 2022 to June 2023 period.

In late 2022, the union representing library workers filed a grievance with the city over safety concerns at the Millennium Library. 

That grievance has now been settled, after the city and the union signed a memorandum of agreement to put community safety hosts at Millennium Library's entrance, although no date has been set for when that change will happen, said Gord Delbridge, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500.

The city also agreed to the union's request to leave in place the metal detectors at the entrance that were brought in following the December 2022 stabbing death of Tyree Cayer inside the library, Delbridge said.

Still, Delbridge says the numbers in the report are nothing to celebrate.

"They should be looking at what kind of proactive approach are they doing to reduce the numbers [of incidents]," Delbridge said.

"That's where they can … show some tangible results, that there's been some action taken. If they're just saying it's the same as it always has been, that's nothing to be proud of."

The city's libraries manager says security investments won't eliminate the root causes of incidents.

"It's things such as chronic poverty, homelessness, untreated addiction, those things are ongoing and worsening in our city and not only in the public library sector," said Karin Borland.

The report also says referrals to external services from the Community Connections space in the lobby of the Millennium Library decreased by 16 per cent, to 13,369, which it attributes to reduced hours at the space due to staffing shortages. 

Despite the reduced hours, there were "still a significant number of visits, with some resource areas showing significant increases," administrative co-ordinator Irmy Nikkel wrote in the report.

Borland said as of Tuesday, Community Connections had resumed full operation hours.

However, funding for the Community Connections space is set to run out at the end of this year.

Coun. Evan Duncan (Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood), the former chair of the community services committee, had previously questioned whether the space was in the appropriate location, and whether city library staff should be referring people to services that fall under the jurisdiction of the provincial government.

Santos said she hopes the city and province can reach an agreement to keep the Community Connections space going.

Meanwhile, a separate report on redesigning the lobby at Millennium Library is expected to recommend further safety improvements.

That report will be released next month.