Donna Gibson said she looks over her shoulder when she goes to the Edgewood library after dark.

She no longer feels safe, she said, because of the type of people frequenting the library -— youth who appear to be associated with gangs and crime.

She admits it might not be a fair assumption but said she chooses to err on the side of caution.

“Where I could once clean up the dishes after dinner and then take my daughter over there, I now just wait until the next day, or I take my husband,” she said.

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As Gibson voiced her concerns to Harford County Sheriff Jesse Bane at a meeting he hosted in Edgewood on Saturday, Bane nodded in agreement.

Libraries “have been made attractive, and when you make them attractive, you begin to draw people you don’t want there,” he said.

Bane said he’s worked with Harford County Public Library Director Audra Caplan to increase police presence around the library.

Sheriff’s deputies have stepped up patrols around the library during the hours of 4 to 8 p.m., according to Sgt. Christine Presberry.

Caplan said in recent months there were incidents of older teens loitering in the lobby or in front of the library, obstructing the building’s entrance and refusing to leave.

But the library has since hired a private security company to maintain a presence during after-school and night hours.

“It has improved,” Caplan said.

The sheriff’s office has received 10 calls over the past six months about disturbances and two calls about bicycles being stolen, but no reports of violent crimes, Presberry said.

“We are not an oasis in the community, and the problems we are seeing are reflective of those being seen all over Edgewood,” Caplan said.

“We never want people to be afraid to come in ... but there is no place where you can guarantee ultimate safety,” she said.

mplum@baltimoreexaminer.com