Bristol libraries hiring security guards to tackle rowdy teenagers
The council's heard some had even had to shut or change their opening hours to stop the issue
Some libraries in Bristol have hired security guards to tackle rowdy teenagers causing trouble during the school holidays. Libraries have had to shut or change their opening hours to deter anti-social behaviour which has put off some people from going there.
Three libraries in particular face challenges with anti-social behaviour, according to Bristol City Council bosses. The council is also planning major changes to its libraries next year, although it’s so far unclear what these will be.
Councillors on the communities scrutiny commission on Monday, November 20, heard about the issues facing Bristol’s 27 libraries. The city’s library service is the third oldest in the country and started 410 years ago, now employing 183 staff.
Kate Murray, head of libraries, said: “It tends to be in school holidays. We have some issues with Junction 3 in Easton as well as Filwood, Southmead and a little bit in Hartcliffe. It’s challenging because we absolutely want the library to be a safe space for everybody but it can’t be safe if we have too much behaviour that’s not conducive to other customers.
“We employ a variety of efforts from engaging with PCSOs and the police, to looking at access and changing the opening hours. Sometimes we’ve had to close and sometimes we’ve had to put security staff in. We mix it up because sometimes things work one time and they don’t work other times.
“If people who want to use the library are intimidated by other users, then they don’t come in. Or if they find that the library is closed or looks closed, as we’re trying to deter what’s happening outside, then we might miss them. The whole idea of having a library is that it’s a universal service. We should be an open door, so it’s upsetting for us.”
Filwood Library was shut over the summer in 2021 after reports of children climbing on the roof. The library also temporarily reduced its opening hours last year for similar reasons. Ms Murray said that libraries work with a wide range of other services to clamp down on anti-social behaviour.
She added: “We work with everybody: children’s services, Horn Youth Concern, community youth workers, local schools, everybody. It does go a little bit in cycles. We had a particularly bad cycle around Junction 3. We’ve got to make sure that everyone is safe and also support young people who aren’t causing issues.”
Elsewhere, Henleaze Library has recently undergone a £12,000 refurbishment, while two new buildings are planned for Filwood Library, as part of a £14.5-million upgrade to the Broadway, and for Southmead Library, as part of the Glencoyne Square development.
Another issue is a stark gap between how much libraries are used in different parts of Bristol. Computer usage is much higher in libraries in wealthier areas than poorer parts of the city, and ‘friends of’ groups supporting the libraries exist in places like Clifton, Westbury and Bishopston but not in others such as Avonmouth, Bishopsworth or Hartcliffe.
The council is planning a new library strategy next year, which will likely include major upgrades to the service reflecting how people use libraries differently compared to before the pandemic. One upgrade coming imminently is wifi printing, which will make using the printers much less onerous than they are currently.
Ms Murray said: “Wifi printing is about to hit the libraries. We’re going to do some staff testing and then we’ll be ready for that. You won’t need to sit down and log on, you’ll be able to come with your phone and just find a printer, print it out and pay, and walk away. That’ll be much better.”
Bristol’s libraries have been under threat in recent years due to the ongoing budget cuts at the council. Several library closures were proposed in 2018 but these plans were scrapped after huge public opposition. Last year saw a plan to relocate the Central Library from its Grade-I listed home on College Green, but this too was scrapped after public opposition.
Green Councillor Martin Fodor, chair of the communities scrutiny commission, said: “My worry is — and this is the thing that’s hanging over us — in the next few years we’re likely to have less money rather than more, fewer libraries rather than the same number. It’s a threat that keeps coming back, but it’s never quite happened yet.
“We’re really lucky we’ve got 27 libraries, because we could have had half that number a few years back. We’ve held on to them but the hours have shrunk and so has the capacity.”