Pubdate: Sat, 07 Jan 2006
Source: London Free Press (CN ON)
Copyright: 2006 The London Free Press
Contact:  http://www.lfpress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/243
Author: Ian Gillespie

LIBRARY IN A TOUGH POSITION ON NEEDLE ISSUE

According to some readers, I'm a stupid, ignorant and unfeeling fellow
who's guilty of perpetuating negative stereotypes about the homeless.

I think a careful reading of yesterday's column (or maybe even a
superficial skim) would prove otherwise. But I suppose idealists don't
have time to trifle with details.

In case you missed it, yesterday's column questioned the wisdom of
placing needle dispenser bins in the washrooms at London's Central
Library on Dundas Street.

The bins are being placed in the men's and women's washrooms on three
floors of the downtown library -- but not, however, in the washrooms
in the children's section.

The placement of the bins was prompted by a sad bit of reality.
Library workers were finding used syringes on washroom floors, in
toilets and in garbage bins. Retrieving those needles posed an obvious
safety hazard; the library's solution was to install special disposal
bins.

In response to my column, one reader stated in a letter to the editor:
"People who abuse drugs and alcohol have a right to use the library
just as much as I do, and probably have a greater need for its many
resources."

I wholeheartedly agree. But I definitely don't believe anyone has "a
right" to do drugs in the library.

Because if they do that, they're breaking the law -- just as they
would be if they decided to drain a mug of beer, suck on a burning
cigarette or view Internet kiddie porn while in the library. If you
ask me, breaking the rules is breaking the rules -- no matter who you
are or what are your problems.

Somehow, some readers concluded I was urging the library to ban
homeless people. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I am suggesting, however, that the library is making it too easy for
people to shoot up in its washrooms, and that accommodating drug users
is driving away legitimate patrons.

I mean, do you really want your children to visit a library where
addicts are shooting up in the washroom?

One reader wrote that by suggesting that security guards identify and
then oust drug users, I was guilty of a "vicious form of profiling."

Well, I guess we differ.

I call the guy who steals your car "a thief." But I suppose that
reader would simply label him "a symptom of a poor economy."

Several readers posed a more valid question: Who would pay for the
security needed to post people outside each washroom and then, when a
patron departed, check to see if they left behind a needle?

I put the question to Bill Irwin, the library's director of community
relations and development.

He pointed out that city commissionaires handle security at the
downtown library, and there are usually two or three on duty. Irwin
emphasized there are video cameras mounted outside the washrooms (but
not inside) that are monitored by staff.

Irwin also said the library has a policy allowing staff to ban patrons
for periods of up to a year or more, and that during the past month
about eight people have been banned.

He also said London police's foot patrol officers regularly tour the
library.

"We're trying to find a balance here and it's difficult," said Irwin.
"Our research has shown that every public building in Halifax, for
instance, has these (needle disposal) units in the washrooms. We're
just catching up to the reality of being a large, urban centre."

Irwin said it's unlikely the library could afford extra security. And
though some readers questioned the wisdom of even publicizing the
situation, Irwin disagreed.

"I think the attention this issue has gotten . . . has raised the
whole level of vigilance," he said. "And hopefully something positive
has come out of this."

To be honest, I sympathize with library staff, who find themselves
between a rock and a hard place.

But I can only shake my head at the "society-is-to-blame" stance of
those who feel the only solution to this situation is to admit defeat
and to do our best to accommodate the drug-addled lawbreakers.

If we've got addicts shooting up in library washrooms, then I'm afraid
we've already lost. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake