Buffalo and Erie County Public Library is back-to-school ready

Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - " A lot has changed since March of 2023 when we had the sudden influx of the students here, and we are well prepared for Thursday when they do arrive."

John Spears, Director of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library says Buffalo's Central Library on Lafayette Square is much more equipped to handle hundreds of kids coming to the library compared to the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, where the library saw a number of fights and altercations ensue amongst young students.

"At the time, we did not have a dedicated teen space. We didn't have much in the realm of programming available for them, and so we really weren't necessarily prepared to serve them in the way that they needed to be served. There were, of course, a lot of fights. This is something that made the news, that the community became aware of, and we took several steps in order to try to create a safe environment for the teams and for the rest of the public that uses the Library as well," shared Spears in an interview with WBEN.

What were these steps Spears speaks of? They installed weapon detection systems for the security of everybody and ramped up security presence, which includes a contract with the Buffalo Peacemakers. The Peacemakers not only patrol the perimeter of the Central Library, but they do outreach with students.

"We also instituted new security protocols, such as closing the Ellicott Street entrance at 3 o'clock. We only have the Washington Street entrance open for the majority of the time that the teens are here, and that allows us to monitor the crowd and know who's here and who isn't. It's much better than when we have two entrances open at the same time," Spears noted.

But as Spears notes, the library did more to ensure that the teens were welcomed, like coordinating more events for the students and creating a new "Teen Space" which is specifically designed for students to do their work, charge their phones and give allocated space for programming and research.

"We've really seen that giving the teens a sense of ownership of their own area, that alone accomplishes a tremendous amount. Before the library was just a place for them to hang out, and there wasn't really anything here that they could call their own," Spears said.

"Once we built them a designated area, they feel a sense of ownership. It's their area, and we've seen an incredible change in the behavior when they are in that area, because it's their area, they don't want to mess it up."

Starting Thursday, tens of thousands of kids will go back to school in the City of Buffalo, as it will be the first day of school for Buffalo Public Schools. Spears notes there will be many programs for the children to partake in when they get out of school and come to the library.

"Stitch Buffalo is going to be doing block printing demos. We always will have free snacks provided after school in the teen space and there's going to be a Teen Resource Fair that's going to have volunteer opportunities and things for teens to do. We have ongoing crafts such as mural making, and then we're going to bring in outside groups as well," Spears added.