Weapons detectors slated for Central Library as director comes to terms with new realities

"I'd be like, 'No, we'll never do that,' " he said.

But that was before the former Colorado man came here to assume the reins as the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library director last year.

Now, having seen all he's seen and heard from patrons who worry about the safety and security of the downtown Central Library, he says he's made peace with a new reality. He's also become more philosophical about the role the library system should play in addressing the needs of students and youth in the community. 

"If it gives people one less concern about coming to a public library, we'll do it," he said.

Included in a budget amendment package regarding the spending of year-end Erie County surplus money from 2022, the Poloncarz administration is asking the County Legislature to approve spending $511,000 to install new Evolv weapons detectors at the Central Library. These are the same types of detectors now in place in many Buffalo Public Schools.

The amendment package, which outlines how the administration wants to allocate $72 million of a $96.4 million surplus, was submitted to the Legislature after its regular meeting on Thursday. The spending resolution will be taken up at the Legislature's next meeting on April 27.

The recommendation for weapons detectors at the library comes on the heels of a pattern of fighting among students and teens in the library after school that has resulted in numerous police calls and in the Central Library cutting back afterschool hours during weekdays for two weeks in March. 

The fights sometimes involved dozens of kids inside and outside the building along Lafayette Square. The library system subsequently hired Buffalo Peacekeepers, in addition to its pre-existing security, to quell or prevent incidents.

The Central Library is a large county-owned building that serves as the headquarters and hub of the library system, housing, storing and lending the library system's biggest collection of materials. Since the start of the year, hundreds of kids have been coming into the library after school, a huge increase from even months ago.

"The intent is to keep the teens here, not to push them away," said Spears, whose library system includes more than 30 buildings, nine of which are in the city.

The Central Library needs a better strategy to serve them and maintain a positive environment for all users, he said. 

Spears also noted that there have not been any issues with weapons inside the Central Library, but the perception that the main library is not a safe or comfortable environment for library patrons needed to be addressed. Aside from weapons detectors, the library system is reviewing its entranceways, teen spaces and partnerships with community agencies, he said.

Erie County, which provides library funding, is helping to cover those costs.

"All of that is really intended to create an environment where, no matter who you are, you are going to be able to feel safe using this library, because that is the most important thing we can offer this community," he said.

The Evolv weapons detection system, which uses artificial intelligence to help detect weapons, is designed to look less obtrusive than old-fashioned metal detectors and work faster than individual wanding of students. It can be set to different sensitivity settings. Lights flash if the system is triggered, sending individuals to secondary stations where they can be searched by staff.

Currently, 17 Buffalo Public Schools high schools have the Evolv AI-security system, as does one middle school and the central office. There’s a pilot program coming soon for Southside Elementary, which serves children in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.

Spears said the exercise of finding a way to encourage teen use of the library while still maintaining a positive environment for all has led him to be more thoughtful about the role libraries can play in addressing the root causes of violence among teens.

"Maybe we can be part of the conversation about what needs to happen as a community," he said.

News Staff Reporter Ben Tsujimoto contributed to this story.