Long Beach Libraries To Enforce New Code Of Conduct Rules

Long Beach officials unanimously approved an ordinance Tuesday that would allow staff to enforce the library’s code of conduct.

Those who don’t follow the rules can be suspended from the property. If a banned person returns, they could face a misdemeanor charge, with a penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Cathy De Leon, director of Long Beach Public Library, says the new ordinance allows staff to suspend library privileges of disruptive patrons, as well as set up an appeals process for those who want to have their privileges reinstated. And for those that don’t comply after being banned, they could face the misdemeanor charge.

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What opponents say

Opponents of the ordinance who spoke at Tuesday’s city council meeting said it criminalizes the city’s unhoused population since some of the rules listed regulate body odors and personal hygiene.

The rules, said De Leon, are not meant to keep out the city’s unhoused population, but address “egregious” behavior that has happened in the past, such as patrons drinking alcohol inside the library and threatening the physical safety of staff.

The new changes come after the city’s Billie Jean King Main Library had to be shut down for almost a month in 2022 following incidents that threatened the safety of patrons as well as staff.

Social worker support at the library

To address the mental health crisis on library grounds, the library is collaborating with the city’s Department of Mental Health and is in the process of hiring a social worker.

After the pandemic, security staffing at the library was inconsistent. Because of that, De Leon said that library staff found themselves in a position of having to deal with “challenging behavioral issues.”

“There are a lot of people who walk into our doors that have experienced a significant amount of trauma that are sort of wrestling with mental health issues and sometimes that manifests (into) behaviors that are really challenging,” De Leon said.

Due to the success of a pilot program that tapped social work interns to help support library staff in the event of a patron experiencing a mental health crisis, the city included in its FY24 budget a full-time position. That person will support library staff de-escalate a mental health crisis should it arise.