A new report presented to the Hamilton Public Library (HPL) Board says that the organization’s Library Card Access Pilot, which ran from March 16 to May 17, 2026, “achieved its intended objectives,” including “significant reductions in unsafe and dangerous incidents, emergency responses, and naloxone administration.”
HPL already made investments in various support services, including Community Connectors, social workers, peer support workers, community agency partnerships, enhanced staff training, harm reduction measures, security resources, wellness checks, and ongoing collaboration with health and social service providers, but officials say that “challenging conditions at Central Library escalated significantly in late 2025 and early 2026.”
At that time, HPL says that staff observed “increasing levels of illegal drug use, drug distribution activity, emergency responses, and other incidents that undermined the library’s ability to consistently provide a safe, welcoming, and service-focused environment for members and staff.”
HPL was considering a temporary closure of Central Library but instead opted to implement a temporary Library Card Access Pilot.
During the pilot, some services remained available without a library card, including first-floor programs and services, and community partner and social worker support.
Individuals under the age of 18 were also exempt from the card access requirement.
The report says that, during the pilot at Central Library, naloxone administration – a medication for the reversal of an opioid overdose – decreased by more than 90 per cent during, the rate of 911 calls decreased by 67 per cent, and the rate of suspected illegal drug use was reduced by more than half.
During the pilot, library membership also increased, with 1,768 new library cards issued at Central Library during the pilot period – a 34.7 per cent increase year-over-year.
HPL says that there was also “no evidence” that the challenges experienced at Central Library were transferred to other HPL branches.
Overall, HPL says that the findings “suggest that the pilot contributed to a safer, more predictable environment for members and staff while supporting the library’s ability to focus on its core mandate.”
Despite the success of the Library Card Access Pilot, HPL has ended the measure and will only be using it as “an interim operational tool” within its incident response and service continuity framework.
Future use of the library card access measure will be “guided by established thresholds and criteria related to safety, service disruption, and operational impacts” and “only when other interventions have proven insufficient to address escalating conditions.”
In the meantime, HPL will advocate for long-term policy solutions related to homelessness, substance use, mental health, poverty, and housing insecurity.
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