Somerville Public Library’s recently shortened hours have many up in arms. — Photo by Bobbie Toner

By Parker Garlough

Reopening the Central Library during afternoon hours is an “urgent priority” for the Mayor’s Office, according to Director of Intergovernmental Relations Neha Singh, but a specific timeline has not yet been set.

Library staff have been reporting a pattern of disruptive behavior to city administration since at least January, Singh said. City spokespeople have not disclosed details of any of the incidents, mainly due to privacy regulations because many (but not necessarily all) of the people involved were minors.

“I am not just talking about teenagers,” Councilor Jesse Clingan said. “There are adults doing really bad things at the library, including throwing potted plants at librarians.”

Clingan and Councilor Matthew McLaughlin said that recent disturbances have been a continuation of long-standing issues.

“It’s not just the past few years,” McLaughlin said. “It’s decades. It was the same way when I was growing up. We are a city, and we are dealing with city problems. These problems are perpetual, cyclic.”

On August 27, the day before classes began for Somerville Public School students, the City of Somerville and Somerville Public Library announced that the Central Library would be closed between 2:00. and 4:00 p.m. on weekdays (except Wednesdays, when it would be closed between 11:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.) – right when school gets out. The decision came as a shock to many, prompting public outcry and protests at City Hall.

“Where I feel frustration, and many people in the community feel frustration, is the lack of transparency and communication,” Councilor Willie Burnley Jr. said. “A meeting could have taken place in March. As a councilor, I didn’t hear anything about it until the day that hours changed for the library, when our constituents came to me to ask for information and to ask me to help change this.”

Multiple other councilors echoed this, saying they had found out through Facebook or Reddit.

There is not a dedicated person or department in charge of communications between the Mayor’s Office and the library. When pressed to give a specific name, Singh said that Chief of Staff Nikki Spencer has been primarily responsible for speaking to library staff about this particular problem, but “all relevant staff in the mayor’s office” have been working on it.

Multiple city councilors have called to establish a permanent teen center in the past, and they agreed that this situation makes the need for one all the more apparent. Singh said that the administration is working to select a location for it, and the primary obstacles are finding an appropriate facility and meeting staffing needs.

One solution would be to create a space at Somerville High School or Cummings School. Singh expressed apprehension, saying teens might prefer a different location.

“I agree that youth are often looking for spaces outside the academic structures,” Singh said. “There is a library in the high school that is open until 4:00 and has not been impacted, but we need to give them a variety of positive options they can choose from.”

Councilor Naima Sait, former teacher at Somerville High School, supported hosting a teen center in the high school. She advocated for a consistently open center with dedicated staffing, rather than an expansion of extracurricular clubs.

“Teachers are burnt out,” Sait said. “A lot of those clubs do not have advisors. Every year we are asking more and more from teachers, so as you are thinking about this, please keep this in mind.”

Administration and library staff are also exploring other safety measures. Cameras were installed at the library last week, and they have been seeking to hire a library social worker since at least June.

Clingan highlighted the importance of school counselors in identifying children and teens who may be likely to engage in unsafe behavior. “We need to make sure these kids are leaving without all kinds of pent-up anger and emotions,” he said.

He also said that punitive measures, such as temporary bans from the library, may be necessary.

“I was a street kid myself,” Clingan said. “You could have given me all the teen centers in the world, but I was going to do what I was going to do, We should find ways to hold people accountable with regards to the privilege of being in a library.”

McLaughlin is interested in more intense punitive measures.

“People don’t want to call the police,” McLaughlin said. “The police don’t want to get involved. Victims of crimes don’t want police involvement. A few youth who have perpetuated serious violence are aware that there will be no serious consequences, just like people in Davis Square are aware that there will be no consequences for anything they do… I don’t think we are doing them any favors by not acknowledging that these are unacceptable behaviors. They are going to turn 25 one day and get arrested and their life is really going to be over.”

He specified that he was not necessarily in favor of arresting minors, but was open to the possibility of it in the case of violent crime. He proposed stationing a police officer at the library from 2:00 until 4:00 p.m., the hours when the library is currently closed.

Earlier this year, Singh said, a police cruiser had been stationed outside of the library on a regular basis. “We did not think that the PD presence was de-escalating the situation,” she said, and that the police department had agreed it did not seem to be helpful.

Councilor Ewen-Campen clarified that police involvement has been used to deal with issues at the library. “I don’t want members of the public to think that the police are never called to the library. That is absolutely not the case.”

Since January 1, the Somerville crime log notes three instances of police officers responding to reports of violence at or near the library, one of which was at the Central branch.

He expressed optimism that the library would be open soon.

Councilor Jake Wilson is similarly hopeful about the library’s ability to move forward, but regretful that change did not come sooner.

“I have repeatedly called for more spaces and programming, but I will apologize as part of the City of Somerville government that clearly failed our youth and our librarians,” Wilson said. “To our librarians, I’m sorry we failed to act earlier to ensure you had a safe and respectful workplace. Let’s act now to fix that. To your city’s youth, I’m sorry we failed you by not giving you places and programs that you need. Let’s take this opportunity to address that and do right by our youth.”