WORCESTER — The frosted glass doors at either entrance of the Worcester Public Library downtown branch slid open with a rumble in their tracks as patrons arrived Monday morning.
Some looked for a suitable spot to set up their electronics, while others riffled quickly through the day’s newspaper editions, looking to spend the day reading.
Amid the normalcy at the Salem Square branch, police officers were spotted walking past bookshelves and desks, even all the way up to the third floor — the history section of the library — where a staff member was attacked by a patron with a skateboard Thursday.
A 31-year-old city man was arrested at the scene of the library and was arraigned Friday on assault and battery charges.
The attack, which the city has described as "unprovoked,” spurred an early closing of the library Thursday, while Friday, all library branches were closed Friday so staff could debrief.
It was a day of “us taking care of ourselves,” Executive Director Jason L. Homer said Monday as he stood between shelves of the romance section of the library, a quiet place to revisit last week’s attack.
“We wanted to give staff the chance to give their opinion, share ideas, share their frustrations,” said Homer. “We were here to listen.”
Monday, Homer said that an increased officer presence was the result of the library cooperating with the Police Department, which will send officers at “a randomized schedule” to patrol through the library’s spaces.
Homer said the practice will continue for the remainder of August. Come September, he said, City Manager Eric D. Batista will introduce security measures that will involve a more regular police presence.
He added that library’s priority is to make sure the staff’s concerns are addressed before the library can “respond to everyone across the board.”
Homer said that “a couple” of staff members have taken time away from work on the heels of the attack.
“I'm sure everyone knows that we are dealing with the those who have been left behind by society and that doesn't always come out in the way in which we want it to,” said Homer. “But for us, it's never going to change who we are.
“We're a library that cares deeply about its patrons and so we're just going to keep doing the work to make sure that staff and patrons alike are safe.”
Homer said the library sees around 1,400 visitors per day, a number that he said was calculated using an artificial intelligence gadget at the library’s entry points.
A community block party that was held at the library Saturday saw great support, according to Homer, who said that about 3,000 participated in the live music event with 60 vendors and a children’s bounce house, among them.
This was the library’s fourth annual event and was held from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Homer said that he saw the turnout at the block party as part of a “crazy overwhelming community support, in a good way,” with patrons sending bouquets of flowers including a bouquet sent by the Thomas Crane Public Library in Quincy.
He also said to have received hundreds of support emails from libraries across New England and many calls from officials.
“We're not going to change who we are over an incident,” said Homer. “We care about our community and sometimes our community needs us to care about it more than it really understands.”
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: 'We care about our community': Days after worker attacked, normalcy desired at Worcester library
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