Rapid City Public Library Stepping Up Security

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - The Rapid City Public Library is upgrading security.

Mayor Sam Kooiker says there are "serious concerns" about public safety at the library that sees about 1,500 people each day. Officials cite a pattern of suspicious activity, a recent shooting incident and the homeless population that uses the library.

The Rapid City Journal reports that the library's board voted this week to add a police liaison. Kooiker says that person - a police lieutenant - is going through the library's security guidelines to see what needs to be changed.

The board decision comes a few months after the library added full-time private security. That decision was made after the Feb. 21 police shooting of a man with a butcher knife who had just been escorted out of the library.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.