A California library is re-opening after being closed nearly a month because of “mental health issues” in the area.
The Billie Jean King Library in Long Beach was closed last month over concerns for the safety of staff and visitors.
As of Sept. 27, the library has shifted to to-go services because of recent security-related incidents.
The city of Long Beach says those incidents usually involve people with mental health related episodes and often have required security or police. The temporary closure has caused an inconvenience for some visitors.
“Parked down the road and came over, just to put my computer up and work for the day, and the door was locked, and when they came to the door, they told me it was closed and gave me a list of other libraries in the greater area that I can try,” said Reed Fernandez, a visitor in Long Beach.
Cathy De Leon, the director of the Long Beach Public Library, says the closure of the facility’s main library is due to lack of security presence.
The closures have been seen by many as symbolic of a crumbling state when it comes to crime and homelessness. Rather than change policies to protect taxpayers and their public services, Democrat majorities in cities across the state simply double down on their “defund the police” platforms. They’d rather see a business or public library or a park close to the public than resolve the myriad of issues that lead to violent crimes.
KTLA reports the library has finally reopened, citing new “security measures” in place to protect the public and library staff, including limiting the open hours for the public.
“The temporary closure was necessary to address security staffing levels and specialized library staff training,” the City of Long Beach said in a news release. “With Main Library being a high-volume facility in the city’s downtown core, combined with the state of mental health challenges that many are experiencing locally and throughout the country, it was apparent that in order to effectively conduct library business and provide a positive and inspiring environment for all who entered the doors, a new plan needed to be developed to meet the needs of this specific facility.”
The city said a temporary security plan has been identified and will be rolled out over the coming weeks.
The library, located at 200 W. Broadway, will be open for “special operating hours” from Thursday until November 2, at which point the library will resume normal operating hours.
City officials downplayed the severity of the problem, calling the issues that closed the library “isolated incidents.”
“At times, some who visit the Library may have unresolved trauma, medical issues and mental health challenges that negatively impact other library patrons and staff. The City will continue to develop strategies to manage these isolated events for the peace of mind of all who come through our library doors,” the city said.
It doesn’t seem like a few “isolated incidents” from people with “unresolved trauma” would be enough to close down a major public library. Leave it to California Democrats to pretend the criminals are the real victims and people who complain about being attacked on the way to the library are just being hysterical.
