The Englewood library closed last week after tests found methamphetamine in parts of the building, officials said. The main library in Boulder closed after a similar problem last month.
A second library in Colorado has closed after city officials said it was contaminated with methamphetamine.
The public library in Englewood, about seven miles south of downtown Denver, was closed last week, shortly after test results showed that its bathrooms, as well as some other surfaces, were contaminated with the drug, city officials said.
Out of an “abundance of caution,” the city, which has a population of about 33,500, said it had decided to temporarily shutter the Englewood Public Library as well as a lobby and some restrooms in the nearby Englewood Civic Center, citing contamination.
Shawn Lewis, the city manager, said in a statement that the test results were “troubling.” He said the city would immediately begin work to remediate the affected areas of the library, with the goal of reopening as soon as possible.
“The health and safety of our staff, residents and patrons is of the utmost importance to all of us at the City of Englewood,” he said.
The city said that it tested the library on Jan 6., shortly after methamphetamine contamination led to the closure of a library in downtown Boulder, Colo., about 30 miles northwest of Englewood.
In Boulder, officials said that they had decided to test after receiving reports of people smoking meth in the library’s restrooms. Members of the library’s staff had also been “evaluated and cleared for potential meth exposure after feeling ill” on two separate occasions, the city said. Restroom exhaust vents were found to be contaminated with the drug, the city said.
The closure of a second library in the state in just a matter of weeks has highlighted a difficult balancing act for public libraries as they try to keep their doors open to all during a pandemic and a drug epidemic. As free indoor spaces, libraries face a particular challenge.
“Since Covid, the face of libraries have changed,” Marie Hotta, the chair of the Englewood Public Library board, said. “Libraries are not just a place to check out books and do research anymore.” The library, which is next to a light rail stop, has confronted numerous safety issues over the years, she said, placing staff in the difficult position of balancing the needs of everyone in the community.
“I am on the side of helping people,” Ms. Hotta said. “That said, families need to feel safe.” She said she was glad that the library’s staff and directors had taken the initiative to test the building.
The American Library Association said in a statement on Monday that, at this time, incidents involving methamphetamine contamination in library buildings appeared to be limited to Colorado. “We are unaware of this issue occurring anywhere else in the country, currently or in recent years,” it said.
The main library in Boulder reopened last week after extensive cleaning of the floors, walls and heating and ventilation systems, though the public restrooms were still being cleaned and remained unavailable. The library said that it had also removed some seating, public computers and laptops.
Deaths from drug overdoses rose to record-breaking levels in 2021, nearing 108,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A significant share of those deaths resulted from overdoses involving methamphetamine, a highly addictive synthetic stimulant, and fentanyl, a class of potent synthetic opioids that are sometimes mixed with other drugs.
The number of deaths associated with stimulants like meth, which has grown cheaper and more lethal, reached about 33,000 in 2021.
State and local governments have different standards for determining what level of meth contamination is safe for the public. But the thresholds for remediation set in Colorado are “some of the most conservative in the nation,” according to the city of Boulder.
City officials in Englewood said that reports of drug use in the library, while infrequent, had increased in recent months, and that it was hiring additional security staff members to conduct surveillance inside and outside the library.
Officials said the traces of the drug in the restrooms in the library and the civic center “exceeded state thresholds for methamphetamine contamination.” Other parts of the library building also tested positive for methamphetamine contamination but at lower levels, they said.
All of the affected areas will require “specialized cleaning,” the city said in its statement.
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