Incident at Wanaka Library

Date:

Apr 1, 2016

An incident at Wanaka library this morning has reinforced the value of having a clear behaviour policy for visitors, Queenstown Lakes District Council Library Manager Jo McElroy said.

Police were called after an overseas visitor abused library staff and repeatedly refused to remove his large backpack from the library, or leave the building.

Mrs McElroy said that the Wanaka library was a popular destination for visitors and the Council had implemented a peak visitor management policy to ensure that the library could accommodate both regular and transient customers. This included clear signs about the need to leave large bags in the foyer.

Initially the backpacker was prepared to comply with the rule, but police were called when he and his travelling companion became argumentative, abused library staff, disturbed other library users and refused to leave. Police removed the pair from the library and warned both travellers that if they returned, they would be arrested.

“We’re very grateful to the Wanaka Police for responding so quickly,” Mrs McElroy said. She praised the head of the Wanaka library team, Sue Gwilliam, for dealing with the situation calmly and professionally over several minutes.

Mrs McElroy said she understood this was the first time the police had been called to deal with an overseas visitor at Wanaka library. Most appreciated the library was a community facility and respected the behaviour code.