Harold Washington Library Staff Say Safety Incidents Are Rising and Support Is Falling Short

Staff at Harold Washington Library Center say safety problems at the downtown branch have grown worse in recent months, citing understaffing, uneven rule enforcement and limited de-escalation training. Employees told the Chicago Tribune that the pressure of serving patrons while keeping the building welcoming is taking a growing mental toll.

Christopher Crotwell, who has worked in the third-floor computer commons for eight years, said violent and uncomfortable episodes happen regularly. A few weeks ago, he woke a man sleeping at a computer. The man threatened him until security escorted him out of view. Crotwell, who said he generally feels safe in the city, afterward bought mace to carry. "I don't want to feel like it's necessary," he said. He added that he sympathizes with the man, noting that many visitors are among Chicago's most vulnerable and rely on the library's resources.

Records the Tribune obtained through a public records request show about 240 incident reports filed by staff in the first three months of 2025. Over the same period last year, the documents showed only 10, although the library system returned no reports from March 2024. The reports cover hygiene concerns, absent security officers, verbal threats and physical assaults. It is unclear whether more homeless people are visiting library facilities, though some staff say their presence is a factor.

Specific reports describe a worker attacked by a patron during a tour on Feb. 13 and taken to urgent care, a Feb. 28 brawl that left at least one person with a stab wound, and a patron who shattered a door window on Feb. 11. On March 11, a man struck a woman who was waiting by the elevator with her child. Other reports detail patrons watching pornography in the computer commons, exposing themselves and damaging property.

Adrienne Seely, a Harold Washington employee and vice president of AFSCME Local 1215, said she now avoids elevators and low-visibility spaces and tries to project friendliness so as not to provoke anyone already on edge. A library spokesperson said the system welcomes more than five million visitors a year, most without incident, but that public spaces require ongoing vigilance. The library has formed a safety task force.

Staffing is a point of dispute. The union says the system had 1,242 employees in January 2020, and notes this year's budget cuts 50 positions. The library says staffing is at its highest since 2011 and had 1,081 employees in December 2019. Its website listed 1,153 workers, 796 of them full time, as of March 19, 2025. The library says all staff complete five hours of trauma-informed de-escalation training, but the training was largely video-based, and Seely said many employees would prefer in-person role-play.

Staff also criticized how suspensions are decided. Crotwell said the longest typical suspension, outside extreme cases, is a month. Reports reviewed by the Tribune describe a patron who lunged at a worker and received two weeks, and another who threatened a worker and got seven days. A man seen masturbating was first recommended for seven days but was suspended indefinitely pending a court decision. "What behavior rises to the level of letting someone know that they're a danger to the space and that they can't return is just unclear," Crotwell said. The library says it uses a systemwide suspension matrix with management review, while Seely said staff and management have disagreed over suspension lengths.

University of Washington professor Karen Fisher, who has studied violence in libraries, said Chicago's experience matches national trends. Her research found one in five library staff had been physically assaulted and one in 20 had suffered life-threatening injuries, with verbal abuse especially common.

The library says summer 2025 initiatives will include training on incident reporting, emergency response and conflict prevention, and that it has met with staff on every floor and increased security coordination. Staff want a social worker on site during all open hours. A bill to protect library employees was introduced in Springfield last year but did not become law. "People want great public services from their libraries, but they want their library workers to be library workers," said Anders Lindall, a spokesperson for AFSCME Council 31.