According to WPL clerk-treasurer Richard Zalecky, the ban stemmed from the weekday arrival of some 100 youngsters who have drawn graffiti on the building’s exterior as well as in its restrooms, and who intimidate library visitors by loitering in large groups near the facility’s entrance. “We had to escort some people out because they were afraid of the crowd,” Zalecky said in the January 7 Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Reaction to the policy change has been mixed. “We’ve come here and seen the disruption,” patron Margie Kost told the Plain Dealer, adding, “What is sad is that a library is not supposed to be a babysitter.” “I understand there is a limit, but I think they may have overreacted,” disagreed patron Kim Moulton. “I grew up here and went to the library after school because it was a safe place.” Both women told the newspaper they were the mothers of two children.
Librarians from nearby libraries told the Plain Dealer their facilities have addressed similar issues with strategies that included piping classical music outside the building after school to repel unruly youngsters and increasing supervised youth programming. “These are tomorrow’s taxpayers,” Cleveland Heights–University Heights Public Library Director Steve Wood told the newspaper.
Posted January 13, 2006.