Winnipeg’s Millennium Library needs Solidarity, not Security

Abstract

We argue that Winnipeg’s downtown Millennium Library’s aggressive and invasive security screening practices represent a threat to libraries across North America. Drawing on critical librarianship literatures, as well as anti-racist and criminological scholarship, we argue that moves to implement security screening in libraries flies in the face of best practices for public libraries, creates opportunities for racial bias and harm, and does not make patrons or staff safer. We trace the multiple ways that securitization creates harm for different marginalized communities. We then argue that Millennium Library is not alone in facing this risk, and that solidarity and mobilization by other librarians will be necessary to stem the tide on securitization.