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ST. CHARLES COUNTY — Teenagers in St. Charles County will soon be required to have parental permission or a guardian in tow to visit public libraries during some hours because officials say the buildings have become gathering places for noisy — and, on rare occasions, violent — groups of teens. 

The policy was adopted in response to what officials described as "an unsafe environment" caused by as many as 100 teens flocking to a single library after school. 

"We have heard complaints from many patrons, including some school children who come to the library to study and do homework, who won't come to the library during these hours because of the noise," said Jason Kuhl, CEO of the St. Charles City-County Library. 

The policy, which is not related to the library's recently adopted rule requiring parental permission for teens to get a library card, applies only from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays for kids between the ages of 10 and 16. It does not affect their ability to visit the library on weekends or outside those hours, and kids younger than 10 are already required to have a guardian present. 

The rule change was approved Tuesday night during another lengthy meeting of the library board trustees. Trustees also fielded public comments about a resolution approved by the St. Charles County Council on Monday night that covered several topics, including urging the library to avoid political issues.

The library system has been thrust into the center of debate in recent months over LGBTQ and other cultural issues. Patrons have complained at meetings about a library employee they described as wearing facial hair and makeup, and they have accused the library of making sexually explicit material available to kids — a claim library workers deny.  

But much of Tuesday's meeting was spent implementing the new, separate policy for unsupervised teens. 

Library officials said they have spent months grappling behind the scenes with what to do about "skyrocketing incident reports" involving teens who flood the county's libraries after schools dismiss for the day. 

"It creates an unsafe environment for the kids. It is hard to manage. It is hard to know what is happening in all areas of the library with our limited staff," said Tiffany Barke, the library system's director of administration. Barke described the chaos of libraries between 3 and 5 p.m. as an "untenable situation." 

Kuhl said problems could arise at any library, but they are especially bad at Kathryn Linnemann Library in St. Charles, which is near Hardin Middle School, Blackhurst Elementary School, and is a brief walk from Coverdell Elementary School. 

Tracey Hittler, a parent who lives near Kathryn Linnemann Library, said her children regularly go to the library after school. Her teenagers go to play video games and take advantage of the electronics offered there, she said, because they dream of being professional gamers when they are adults. 

"Parents do take advantage of the library because parents know that it is a safe environment for their children to be while they are at work," said Hittler, who added that her kids sometimes tell her it seems like "every kid" from nearby Hardin Middle School is at the library after school. 

Kuhl said the staff feels that way sometimes, too. He said the stress caused by kids coming to the library is why Kathryn Linnemann has the worst turnover rate of any library in the system. In the past 18 months, the library branch has hired 35 different workers.

"At some point, the library has to draw a line to say that we can't solve all of society's problems," Kuhl said. "We don't have the funding, the capacity, the resources to handle this. We are not designed for this."

During discussions, board members largely lamented the decision, which they worried would send the wrong message to teens. 

"I am concerned that the very group who needs the library the most will be the ones who are unable to come to the library and come to a safe space," said Staci Alvarez, the board's president. 

"I don't like this any more than any of you, but without having another solution we need to recognize that the liability far exceeds anything that we can accommodate," added Renee Tillman, a trustee.  

The new policy takes effect after Labor Day and the permission form, which will be valid for one school year, is expected to go live on the library district's website later this month.