Youths causing trouble inside Saugus library

SAUGUS – Groups of unruly middle school students are making life difficult for library employees and unbearable for some patrons.Any police officer or youth worker will tell you that the hours between 3-6 p.m. are when kids are most likely to find trouble and Library Director Ewa Jankowska will attest to that fact.”They are just out of control,” she said. “They are chasing patrons out. It’s very disruptive for us; it’s very depressing for us. We’re not babysitters for God’s sake.”Administrative Assistant Linda Duffy said the situation has gotten so bad the police have been called on several occasions. And it’s not only library personnel who have called the police for assistance – patrons have as well.Duffy said there was recently a group of roughly 20 middle school-aged youths upstairs in the library where only one librarian was on duty. When they began to roughhouse, the patron got so nervous they called the police on their cell phone. Another patron sought refuge behind the librarian’s desk during another incident because she was afraid of the children.”They’re loud and boisterous, they push each other down the stairs. They start fights,” Duffy said. “They scare the patrons. I don’t know why they come here. It’s certainly not to read a book.”The trouble has caught the eye of Town Manager Andrew Bisignani. Bisignani said he is concerned for the safety of the patrons and the staff and has asked the Board of Library Trustees to come up with a plan to instill greater safety.Jankowska said she has asked the Police Department if an officer could do a walk through each afternoon, but the department said it was too shorthanded. When she worked in the Beverly library, Jankowska said they had a similar problem and having a police officer simply stroll through every afternoon went a long way toward getting the kids to behave.While they said they could not commit to putting in a daily appearance, police officials did tell Jankowska to call the department whenever the students began to get out of control and they would respond.”Even if they are congregating out front, they told us to call because it is public property,” Jankowska said.Duffy said the police could then ban the students from the building for being disruptive.Jankowska said she also asked Bisignani to reinstate the library’s part time custodian during the 3-6 p.m. hours, but he has indicated that is not feasible.She has also appealed to the School Department for help. In a letter to Superintendent Keith Manville, Jankowska said she asked him to share the library’s “rules of unattended minors” and the library’s code of conduct with the middle and high school principals.”Then I will be banning (kids) accordingly to their behavior, one week to three months,” Jankowska said. “Parents have to know I’m not taking any baloney over this. We must be firm. This is about our safety and the patrons’ safety.”