Gore District Mayor Ben Bell, Mataura Community Board chairwoman Nicky Coats and Mataura ward councillor Neville Phillips met staff yesterday to discuss the verbal abuse and threatening behaviour encountered at the library.
"This is a community problem, and as a community, we need to find a solution," Mrs Coats said.
The community was angry and fed up with the problem youths, she said.
Gore district libraries manager Emma Sherie said it was unacceptable staff had to deal with intimidation and verbal abuse.
Mataura Library was single-staffed, which had become an issue given the youths’ behaviour, she said.
The measure was decided to ensure two staff were on duty in the short term.
Mrs Sherie said there had been questions about turning off the Wi-Fi, as it seemed to be one of the reasons young people hung around the area.
However, it was not a simple process to turn off and on again and it had been decided to retain the service for those who relied on it, she said.
The council in a statement yesterday said council and community board representatives would meet police and Hokonui Runanga this week to work on a solution
The youths were believed to be between 14 and 19 years old.
Antisocial behaviour happened when teenagers not in school arrived to wait for the school buses to drop off their friends, the statement said.
They would then all loiter around the area and in the building, it said.
