Librarians & barbarians

Bust-ups on rise among bookshelves

IT’S the last place you would expect to be threatened or beaten up.

But violence is on the rise at Britain’s libraries. Shock figures show they were the scene of nearly 6,000 serious antisocial behaviour incidents in five years.

And librarians are the main targets at spots where a gentle “sshhh” used to be the closest you got to a confrontation.

An ex-policeman who spent five years working in a North East library told us: “I was assaulted more times in there than in than in my 25 years in the force.” And Neil Wood, 66, once attacked with a screwdriver, added: “Libraries are hubs of chaos. These people go there as they are barred from all pubs, most shops and public transport.”

Isobel Hunter, of national charity Libraries Connected, blamed the trend on “people not being able to access medical and support services” and “the cost of living crisis”. She called on councils “to ensure libraries remain safe”.

In some areas they are used as a contact point for social services, which is believed to have added to the risk of disturbances.

Our figures emerged from a Freedom of Information request to 154 councils. Nick Poole, chief SAFETY CALL Isobel Hunter of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, said he was “deeply concerned” by the figures.

“Public libraries increasingly act as frontline first responders for people with complex needs,” he said. “We celebrate public libraries being seen as safe and trusted spaces, but any form of assault is never acceptable.” The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and

Sport declined to comment.