Wild Times at a Library in Antioch, CA

Antioch, California is a city located about halfway between Berkeley and Stockton. Over the weekend a librarian announced the library would be closed until further notice because of concerns about threats to the safety of patrons and employees. What has been going on there you ask? Here’s a partial list:

The county announced the temporary closure in a statement Friday, citing “repeated dangerous incidents in the last few months that have threatened the safety and security of patrons and staff.” It will reopen on Tuesday at noon.

The incidents reported at the Antioch Library include theft and damage to property; repeated vandalism, including items being set on fire; threats to staff and security; drug use inside and outside the library; sexual intercourse “in full view of patrons and staff” inside and outside of the library; and bullet casings on library property, said Brooke Converse, a spokesperson for the Contra Costa County Library system.

In all, library staff have made 15 calls to the police in just the last 2 1/2 months. In some cases police never came. The description above of what the librarians ahve been dealing with doesn’t even cover all of it. The Mercury News published a more detailed breakdown which included finding a wanted fugitive in the teen section, two drugged out and unresponsive people one of whom was partially naked, pools of blood, etc.

On Dec. 1, staff called 911 after they found a library patron who “appeared to be on an unknown substance” who was shaking, with white powder on his face and mucus streaming from his nose. Also that day, librarian found a note that read “I hate,” followed by a racial slur.

On Dec. 2, police discovered a wanted individual using library computers, then removed him from the teen area. That same day, another intoxicated person in the teen area was found singing loudly, and was asked to leave.

On Dec. 16, staff found a burning mattress in the parking lot.

On Jan. 12, a regular patron repeatedly yelled at and threatened the security guard, then refused to leave until police arrived.

On Jan. 13, staff found large amounts of blood pooled on the bathroom floor

On Jan. 31, staff closing the building found two unresponsive people, one nude from the waist down. They called EMTs to the scene.

On Feb. 13, a staff member’s car was broken into in the library parking lot

On. Feb. 16, a couple was discovered having sex in the bathroom and asked to leave. Staff later found them in the library walkway having sex with their clothing removed.

Not included in that list are a few other incidents including a carjacking of a library aide and apparent drug dealing in the parking lot.

Antioch’s mayor expressed surprise over the closure but the library is run by the county so they did notify county officials before making the announcement. 

The county alerted the Antioch City Manager about the decision to close this branch on Friday afternoon, Converse said.

However, Antioch Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe wrote a letter to the County Administrator on Friday expressing his concern and shock over the decision.

“According to our city administration, no one in the City of Antioch, including the police chief were informed of any safety concerns by Contra Costa County regarding the library,” Thorpe wrote in the letter.

The plan is to reopen the library Tuesday after some changes have been made. A fence around the parking lot is being repaired and an emergency contract has hired a second guard who will keep an eye on things. Also the library will be getting some new cameras to help monitor what is going on around the property.

If things are this bad in this one little library, you have to wonder what is going on in other libraries near Oakland, San Francisco, etc. The library spokesman interviewed for this report said it is happening everywhere.