Salt Lake City Public Library

Extremely unsafe!! Do not recommend - do NOT bring your children here! The mentally ill and homeless flock to this place and there’s zero safety or security as you approach the building.

Went first thing on a Saturday morning for a friend’s of the library booksale with my young child. There were mobs of homeless surrounding us as we approached the doors. They lined up 30 minutes in advance of the doors opening and waited there pacing for security to open the door. It was VERY obvious many of them suffered from mental illness. As the security opened the doors at 10am, there were 20 to 30 homeless individuals nearly charging the doors to get in - quite a few of them were staring at my child in a very uncomfortable way. The security who opened the doors seemed completely unaffected, just business as usual.

As we were leaving an hour later, there seemed to be an altercation taking place between 2 homeless individuals (again, obviously suffering from mental illnesses) and when one nearby spectating man walked too close, one of the homeless men screamed at him to mind his own business. It looked like it was about to escalate into violence. It was all I could do not to grab my child and run in the opposite direction. It freaked my child out noticeably. WE WILL NEVER BE BACK!

This library, while its outwardly ascetics are pleasing, is extremely dangerous! I cannot imagine that fighting or violence towards the public has not taken place previously. I did NOT feel safe at all. I will NEVER return. Do NOT bring your children here!! Seriously, it is an accident waiting to happen. I cannot warn anyone enough to stay clear of this place. It’s as if you’re walking into a state run mental facility - In no way did I feel safe as a woman or a mother walking anywhere near there and I feel strongly that people need to be made aware of these issues, this is a serious warning for people to never go there - it’s extremely, and I do mean extremely, dangerous.

If I could give the Salt Lake Public Library a negative 10 star rating, I would. Do not go here, do not walk by here — if you do, it will quickly become apparent to you that you are not safe and are at risk of violence.