A urine issue at the Leamington library is costing $13,000 for enhance security and reading material replacement.
The Essex County library system is spending $5,000 on video cameras and $8,000 to replace the ruined books.
The problem was discovered last fall, when staff found hundreds of books that had been urinated on in the library. The last known incident occurred in December.
Jennifer Franklin-McInnis, deputy chief librarian and manager of Essex County branches says although they haven’t noticed any more urine since then, it’s more of a precautionary measure.
“It’s really unfortunate that we’ve had to put video cameras in,” says Franklin-McInnis.
Most of the urine was found in the back corner, the farthest away from the circulation desk, making it hard to see.
Franklin-McInnis says they are still in the process of replacing the books.
“We had to reorder new editions,” she says. “It takes some time.”
Staff has been more vigilant, security mirrors were installed and books were moved off the bottom three rows.
But regular patrons were concerned with past cases.
“It upset the staff and it upset the patrons,” she says. “There are a lot of families who use that branch and we want it to be a positive place for families.”
