The Central Library at Hamilton, Ont., is home to six sprawling floors of literature and learning, with a mission statement that includes innovation, respect and inclusion. Though delivering on those values is becoming increasingly more challenging according to the library’s CEO.
“Ultimately, it’s been the drug consumption that has been really problematic and really disrupting our ability to be a public library,” says Hamilton Public Library CEO Paul Takala.
Since December, paramedics have been called to the Hamilton Central Library 105 times. Security have administered life saving naloxone to individuals who’ve been overdosing on 44 separate occasions.
