How libraries changed from local sanctuaries to antisocial behaviour hotspots

All the crime in British libraries has traditionally been contained between the covers of our books – any rowdiness instantly quelled by the librarians’ famous “Shh!”  

But in Colchester, Essex, that idyll increasingly resembles fiction. Over the past three months, the city’s local library has recorded a shocking 54 incidents of antisocial behaviour, forcing librarians to consider donning bodycams for their own protection.

Books have been snatched from the shelves, tossed about and destroyed. An irreplaceable collection of local 18th-century maps has been defaced with obscene sketches. A glass door has been shattered, fires have been lit on the carpet tiles of the quiet study area and staff have been subjected to appalling verbal abuse and – on one occasion – a physical assault. 

Perhaps most worrying of all, however, is that the Essex librarians are far from alone, with similar learning sanctuaries across the country now battling a wave of criminality and disorderly behaviour.

In Kent, such institutions witnessed a 500 per cent increase in antisocial incidents affecting staff and library users between 2020 and 2023, while in Bristol, several libraries were forced to close or change their opening hours over the school holidays last year to deter unruly young visitors.

“We’ve heard from a number of librarians who feel there has been an increase in antisocial behaviour,” says James Gray of Libraries Connected.

Rising concern over the crisis has forced his organisation, a charity which represents all public libraries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, to “put out nationwide guidance on preventing and de-escalating disruptive behaviour.”

Some, including Colchester Library, have already taken matters into their own hands in a bid to keep the peace. “We’ve had to hire a security guard and give staff training on ways to de-escalate potentially unruly or violent situations, to offer advice on issues caused by substance abuse and we’re looking into getting them fitted with body cams,” says Essex County Council spokesman Angus Shaw from inside the library on a quiet midweek morning.

But staff are less keen to speak. Many “fear reprisals”, Shaw says, and opt to go about their business quietly instead, busying themselves between book-lined shelves, a puzzle table and a bank of free-to-use computers.

No longer the silent book storage and study areas of old, libraries have evolved to become “community hubs” offering a wide range of free or affordable services to visitors of all ages. You can go to a library to access the internet and use printers and photocopiers. They host knitting clubs, manga drawing sessions and bereavement support meetings. Often they’ll loan out medical equipment such as blood pressure monitors, with many becoming Covid vaccination centres during the pandemic. A new Scottish scheme even offers up musical instruments for users. 

In Colchester’s library, parents and grandparents are supervising toddlers clambering around a small soft play area situated on the two-storey building’s ground floor.

One infant is absorbed by an LED light display while her grandfather reads a picture book to a giggling older sibling. “I read about the problems here in the local paper and I was quite concerned,” says 76-year-old Derek Thornton, a retired gardener. “I was quite upset as this has always been a lovely place to bring the grandkids for things like Baby Rhyme Time and we usually go for a coffee next door afterwards. It hasn’t put me off but I’m keeping an eye out for trouble. It’s horrible to think of the staff here having to put up with that.”

In the main study area, rows of teenagers are studying hard for GCSEs and A levels. They’re quiet and relaxed – boxes of sandwiches and water bottles lined up beside their laptops. Eve and Maia, both 17, say they’ve been warned not to leave their bags or computers unattended, even to go to the toilet or to find books, after the spate of recent problems.

Jeff Bates, 62, is one of a small group of locals who enjoy the library’s puzzle table. “I came in once to use the computers,” he says, “and I saw the puzzle table set up with a 1000-piece picture of a fairground and got hooked.

“Now I come in a few times a week. It’s fun to see how much gets done between my visits. But some of the behaviour I’ve witnessed up here lately hasn’t made it such a peaceful place for me.”

“At first it was just kids mucking about on those wheelie chairs. But then the staff asked them to stop... That was when the mood changed,” he adds, explaining that they reacted to being reprimanded by becoming aggressive and destructive.

Shaw says the flurry of recent problems began in March. “It’s small groups of kids, probably in their mid-teens,” he says, adding that they often wear hoodies, making it difficult to identify them. “They can show up at all times of day so they’re clearly either truanting from school or not in mainstream education.

“It has become quite worrying for the staff because they never know when to expect these kids or what they will do next.” Shaw points to scorch marks on the carpet. “It looks like they were using paper they brought with them as kindling.” 

A 35-year-old man using a nearby computer to work on a science-fiction novel looks down, worried. “You don’t expect your library to burn down while you’re working, do you?” 

His concerns are echoed by a sixth-form prefect from a local school who is busily unpacking his books, readying to study at one of the library’s tables. “My parents told me to get up and get out of the library if it all starts kicking off again because they don’t want me to get involved,” he says. “But that’s annoying because this is usually a really good place to get some studying done.” 

Certainly, libraries across the county appear to be well-loved by the public. Data from Essex County Council shows that footfall in such institutions has increased 13 per cent year on year since the pandemic, with millions of visits and book loans made each year.

Local authorities appear keen to stress Colchester is an isolated case, saying it is the only one of Essex’s 74 libraries experiencing “real problems” with antisocial behaviour.

“Its city centre location means that kids are congregating outside and then coming inside because it’s a free public space with lots of comfortable seating and internet access,” says Mark Durham, Essex County Council’s cabinet member for the arts, heritage and culture.

“We are revamping the three local youth centres at a cost of £1.3m and the youth service locally is great. I suspect these issues are, unfortunately, being caused by young people who wouldn’t engage with the service,” he adds.

Others point the finger of blame at wider problems in Britain’s schooling system.

“It’s a lack of discipline in schools that is causing the problem,” says Susan Turner, 60, an outreach tutor who uses the library to teach Maths and English.

“I did some supply teaching in a school quite recently and it was awful. I’m from a working-class, Left-wing background. I think I used to be quite relaxed and thought schools were too strict. But you can’t have kids telling teachers ‘You can’t tell us what to do. We’ll get you fired.’ It’s scary,” she says.

“And that’s the attitude that’s spilling out into places like this. Discipline sets you free, but these children have no self-control because they’ve not been taught it. They need to be taught how to conduct themselves in specific environments – for their own safety and that of everyone around them.”

Cllr Durham, for his part, says he hopes the library’s new security guard will see off the troublemakers. Failing that, the council might be forced to invest in body cams for staff to try and crack down on bad behaviour.

“We just got nearly £350,000 from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to spend on the library,” says Durham.

“The plan is to spend that on creating a children’s imagination and literacy centre and buying lots more Lego sets for our popular Lego clubs. Work on all of that starts in September and we think it will make the library really special so we need to nip this tomfoolery in the bud now.”  

But Turner isn’t expecting a turnaround anytime soon. The scourge of anti-social behaviour requires root-and-branch reform in schools and society at large, she argues, rather than just reactive moves to up security in places such as her local library.

“I’ve probably got to fill out a new risk assessment form for my employers if I want to keep on working in this space,” she says.