Letter: Mackenzie Street branch no longer just a library

I have always enjoyed the services and special programming available at Sudbury libraries for children, adults and seniors. 

I have brought my own two children (now in their 20s), and many small groups of children from school or summer day camps over the years to see magicians, storytellers and animal shows. I was very interested to see entrepreneurship mini-sessions running throughout the March Break. I know several young people who would be very interested in attending.

I was disappointed, however, to see that this excellent opportunity and other children's programs are running only at the library’s Mackenzie Street location.

The function of this library location has expanded from lending books and providing internet access to providing access to social services and a warm space for unhoused or underhoused people to rest, eat and clean up. 

I'm glad that people who need shelter and warmth have a safe and welcoming space to do so, but the realities of the activities that are now becoming common at the library make this an unsafe environment for children.

Carts of unknown items do not belong in the library. A comfy chair in the reading section is not a place to eat your lunch. The drinking fountain is not a place to brush your teeth, and the bathroom is not a place to wash your body, clothing or have privacy to use drugs. 

The addition of a security guard only shows that the use of the library is no longer what it was intended for and library staff should not have to add safeguarding the well-being of patrons to their job description.

If these activities are allowed and supported, then this is no longer just a library; it is a social service hub. Clearly, such a space is needed in our community, but if that is the reality, then that is what it should be used for. Children's library services are no longer suitable.

I greatly anticipate the relocation of the main library to Tom Davies Square, and I think it will be wonderful to have the art gallery and cultural centre there as well. Our city deserves a beautiful space where everyone can enjoy the arts.

If the Mackenzie Street building is to remain open until then, and is to be used as a warming centre and hub for access to social services, it should not be offering children's programming. School break and weekend programs for children could be run from any other location. The city could provide a free bus ride ticket for any parent and child who needs transportation to a library branch to attend a program.

I will not be referring or taking any children to the Mackenzie Street branch, and I hope the city will reconsider hosting children's activities there and instead move these excellent opportunities to a safer and more suitable environment for children and families.

Laura Weese

Greater Sudbury