Worcester Public Library closed Friday after attack on staff member

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The patron hit an employee with a skateboard in an unprovoked attack, the city manager said.

Worcester Public Library photographed on Saturday, July 8, 2006. Wiqan Ang/The Boston Globe

The Worcester Public Library will be closed Friday after a patron attacked a librarian, the city manager said.

A patron at the main branch of the Worcester Library trapped a library employee with a skateboard in an unprovoked attack, City Manager Eric D. Batista said in a statement.

Officers from the Worcester Police Department responded to the situation, he wrote. The staff’s injuries are not critical.

The library closed early Thursday so the city manager and library executive director could meet with staff about the incident, Batista said.

Batista said staff have been trained in trauma-informed de-escalation techniques and that the safety of library staff and patrons is of “utmost importance.”

“Violence is not acceptable and will not be tolerated,” he wrote in the statement. “Worcester Public Library will remain an open and welcoming place for all members of the community, but this sacred space and those who operate it must be treated with respect, honor and dignity.”

The incident is still under investigation. Worcester police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.