How the Bangor Public Library became a flashpoint in the city’s homelessness crisis

On a humid Thursday morning, Tara Townsend sat in the back corner of the Bangor Public Library’s children’s room watching her two young daughters play with a dollhouse while waiting for an event to begin.

Townsend, who lives outside of Boston but grew up in Bangor, came to the library often as a child to pick out books or do homework. Her favorite events when she was younger were the American Girl tea parties the library used to hold, she said.

Now when she visits Bangor, Townsend’s two daughters, ages 4 and 2, beg her to visit the library.

That they see homeless people in the library when they visit doesn’t deter them.

“I think everyone’s entitled to enjoy a safe, comfortable space like the library,” Townsend said.

Attendance at the Bangor Public Library plummeted during the pandemic, but Townsend and her family are among the many visitors who have returned. Roughly the same number of children who were coming to events at the library before the pandemic have come back in the last fiscal year, according to Director Ben Treat, while teen program attendance has soared above pre-pandemic numbers.

The library has regained 80 percent of the 801 daily library entries it saw in the months before the library closed during the pandemic, Treat said.

Those attendance numbers stand in stark contrast with the volume of social media comments from people claiming they will not bring their children to the library because it’s “a homeless hotspot” that “has been taken over by addicts and homeless” and allows people to openly use drugs and sees frequent overdoses.

“That strong message may feel good to the person saying it or sound compelling, but it isn’t the nature of things,” Treat said. “The people who were coming to the library before COVID are coming back and bringing their kids.”

Years of negative rhetoric show how the library has become a flashpoint in a debate about who public spaces are meant for in a city still struggling to solve its homelessness crisis. Concerns from the public seemingly center around the belief that patrons, especially children, will be exposed to visible substance use, drug overdoses and inappropriate behavior from the city’s homeless population, who often use the library as a de facto warming or cooling center where they can access bathrooms and computers for free.

Councilor Dan Tremble echoed those sentiments during a March 25 Bangor City Council workshop when he said he would not bring young children to the library. He made his comments while discussing whether to allow a syringe exchange provider to establish a station in Pierce Park next to the library.

Patrick Downey, a lawyer who works near the library and walks by it daily, said he believed someone would be “insane” to send a child to the Bangor Public Library during a May 13 Bangor City Council meeting.

“I’m not going to go through in disgusting detail the host of horribles that go on there,” Downey, who has lived in Bangor since 2002, said to councilors. He based his comments on the drug use and inappropriate behavior he said he has witnessed outside the library in recent years.

“I’ve seen enough to know that’s not a place I want my son hanging out,” he said.

Both Tremble and Downey stood by their initial comments when contacted by the Bangor Daily News last week. Tremble said he has heard accounts of people using drugs in the library bathrooms or in Pierce Park next to the library, while Downey still feels the library is not where people with mental health disorders or substance use disorder should seek support.

“We weren’t solving the homeless problem by surrendering the Bangor Public Library,” Downey told the BDN. “They’re not using the library for research, for a book report or to see what’s on the bestseller list. The Bangor Public Library is a crown jewel and should be treated as such.”

However, they both said they’ve noticed fewer people spending time in Pierce Park in recent weeks, which creates a more welcoming environment for families walking into the library.

Tremble also believes library staff have implemented good practices, such as regular bathroom checks, to deter inappropriate behavior inside the library. New resources, such as the downtown walking beat police officer and the Bangor Community Action Team, have also helped clamp down on the issue.

“I think they’re taking the right steps and working very hard to turn things around,” Tremble said. “Just driving by the other day, I saw two or three families going in, which is really encouraging. The library is an area where we want families to feel comfortable.”

Many of the public’s concerns about the library center on the belief that the building is unsafe for children, but the children’s room is a highly controlled and protected environment, Treat said.

Librarians have a clear view of the space from their desk. They monitor adults in the room, and will question anyone who doesn’t have a child with them and isn’t browsing materials, he said.

The bathroom in the children’s area is the only unlocked one on the third floor and can be used only by children and adults helping them.

“We’re very focused on keeping the children’s room as safe as possible,” Treat said. “It’s a different environment and not somewhere people can go for another purpose other than browsing children’s literature and being there with their children.”

Jessica Hall watched her 2-year-old daughter, Hannah, quietly play with wooden puzzles in the library’s children’s room on July 18. Hall has seen Facebook posts about people who are homeless or using drugs at the library, but those didn’t stop her from bringing her daughter.

“We want her to be aware of the different demographics in her community and learn how to navigate that,” said Hall, who moved to Bangor three years ago from Missouri. “This is a library, and I still want her to get the benefit of a library.”

Additionally, Hall said she isn’t unnerved by people from all backgrounds using the library, as it’s a public place.

“Where else would they be?” Hall said.

Adrienne Tomah of Bangor said she and her two children, ages 6 and 4, have only had positive experiences in the library. Because of that, Tomah said she plans to make her trips to the library more frequent.

“I’ve always liked the library and never felt unsafe here,” Tomah said. “From the outside, things can look iffy if you’ve never actually gone in, but it’s not fair to make those kinds of assumptions about the library itself. People can be rude and ignorant.”

Treat has seen online posts from people claiming something happened to them in the library and they’ll never visit again because of it. When Treat investigated further — as those alleged events often aren’t reported to library staff — he has found those people didn’t have a library card.

“People may post things that sound upsetting, but it seems those people aren’t always authentically representing their own experiences at the library,” Treat said.

Treat occasionally receives feedback from patrons regarding events they witnessed or experienced that may cause them to take a break from the library, but he said those are usually “measured.” He’s also happy to discuss ways he can keep such an event from happening again.

Treat has also received comments from patrons advising him on ways he can escort people who are homeless out of the library, but he said the library will not kick someone out merely for being homeless.

“We’re a public space and we don’t operate on that principle,” Treat said. “We don’t consider how allowing someone to be in the library affects our image.”

If someone breaks a library rule or acts inappropriately, a librarian will speak with them about their behavior and may direct them to another local resource where that can better meet their needs. For example, if someone is struggling to stay awake, they may be guided to the Bangor Health Equity Alliance’s HEART Center , where they might be able to rest.

The library doesn’t allow someone to sleep, as it can be difficult to tell whether someone is resting or having a medical emergency, Treat said.

The library has seen only 15 suspected overdoses since its first in November 2021 and only three suspected overdoses have happened in the last 12 months, according to Treat.

No one has ever died from a suspected overdose in the library, Treat said. Sgt. Jason McAmbley of the Bangor Police Department confirmed that it has no reports of deaths at the library due to overdose in the past four years.

The library’s drop in suspected overdoses happened after staff began locking and checking bathrooms for misuse every 15 minutes, Treat said.

The library also added a Community Resource Navigator last year — a position funded by pandemic recovery money from the city and county — to help connect patrons to social services.

In the past, residents have expressed concerns or taken issue with behavior they witness in Pierce Park next to the library, but Treat said there’s little the library can do about that because the park is city-owned property.

Furthermore, Treat said someone smoking at the end of the library’s walkway isn’t doing anything illegal.

“As long as someone isn’t blocking our walkway, they’re not breaking any laws,” Treat said. “Cigarettes aren’t good for you, but they’re not illegal.”