It's a situation that anyone who's patronized a public library in a big city can relate to -- the presence of homeless people perusing the stacks, camped out on couches and chairs, or loitering in the lobby. Public libraries are just that -- public -- and are a pretty attractive option for a homeless person kicked out of his or her shelter first thing in the morning. But the chronically homeless are so often affected by mental illness that they can become a nuisance -- or worse -- to librarians and other folks checking out books. The former assistant director of the Salt Lake City Public Library, Chip Ward, has written an op-ed on the conflict librarians feel when a homeless person becomes disruptive and the only options are to call paramedics or cops. What's the threshold for you, as a library patron? Is an odor enough to warrant a complaint? Have you been harassed in a library by a homeless person, or do you worry about sending your kids there?
Blog of the Nation
We cannot all be white, working, suburban, middle-class types.
Library homeless-types keep it real.
I met my husband there. We had a snort of whiskey in the stacks, then he proposed.
I was raised by a single mom who was a paranoid skitzophrenic, and we spent a few years homeless, living under a freeway overpass and in shelters. The public library saved my life - it gave me a save place to spend the day, and I became an avid reader and went on to get a college degree and break the cycle of my family's dysfunction. My fondest memories as a child were Saturdays in the library, and bringing home as many as 12 books at a time. The first movie I saw was "West Side Story" in the library, and it became my favorite.
Give the homeless extra food stamps/clothing stamps for cleaning themselves and bettering themselves. Sort of like sitting through a timeshare presentation for airline tickets.
I am a former librarian and library trustee. I applaud librarians for bringing this problem to the forefront and urge them to continue to speak out about the lack of proper facilities for the homeless. Librarians are not social or mental health workers and should not be burdened with what is a communal responsibility for the homeless. Co-incidentally, did NPR not air a program from the LA Hospital bemoaning the dumping of homeless who come to spend the night or a few days at a hospital? At least librarians are not dumping, but please continue to speak out.
The public libraries in my home county and the neighboring ones (South Central and Southwestern Oregon) have found the ideal answer to taking care of the "Homeless in the Libraries" problem...close the Libraries!! No kidding. Because of a change in government funding for counties that used to depend on timber sales for revenue, all of the public libraries are closing this Wednseday, April 6th. Better yet, many sheriff's depts and police forces are laying off to the point of having one patrol every 24 hours or so in certain areas of the county. Jails are being shut down also!! Welcome back to the Wild Wild West!!
I'm library trustee for an urban library in a small city. We have a large proportion of people who are homeless hanging, out taking baths in the rest rooms and hangin out in front of the library.
It is so difficult to get them to move on and serve those who really are interested. There are a number of people who are afraid to pass panhandlers and others who stop them.
We need to keep our patrons happy and returning often. There is a real danger that our library will suffer loss of funding due to declines in usership. The problem is how to strike a balance with need for all patrons.Others need to step-up and deal with the homeless issues too.
If I'm correct, homeless in the past were tramps and had their own crafts they did like whittling, oral history, etc. So maybe the tramp art place in society has been usurped, and they're just looked at as a nuissance and their story isn't being told. Can you bring back the tramp art?
Yes Joan -- NPR has covered that story -- anyone interested can click here to read them.
America's lack of support for its own people is just shameful. Warren Buffett's $38 billion donation to the Gates Foundation could have provided more than $100,000 for every US citizen! Instead, the money goes to another do-nothing foundation that is just a front for a tax shelter for the rich. Libraries can't shoulder this problem alone. Americans need to pull together to address this and put long term support programs in place to show some fundamental common decency toward our fellow citizens. It has to have funding and direction at the Federal level - some states are so poor they couldn't fund adequate programs. I'm not advocating another government bureacracy - I'm advocating an effectively managed program. There are plenty of out-of-work older professionals in this country with the skills to run an excellent program, manage costs efficiently, and offer services that actually support people through difficult times.
In 1990, the American Library Association adopted Policy 61, Library Services for the Poor.
This "Poor People's Policy" was developed to ensure that libraries are accessible and useful to low-income citizens and to encourage a deeper understanding of poverty's dimensions, its causes, and ways it can be ended.
In 1996, members of the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) formed the Hunger, Homelessness & Poverty Task Force to promote and implement Policy 61 and to raise awareness of poverty issues.
Hunger, Homelessness & Poverty Task Force of the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association: http://www.hhptf.org/
I agree with what Ms. Blair said about librarians not being social or mental health workers. I teach in a Master's degree program in Library and Information Science in which we are educating the next generation of librarians. Many of our students currently work in public libraries and bring their experiences with homeless, and others needing governmental support, to class for discussion. What has struck me most is the number of governmental agencies who are referring persons to the public libraries to fill out e-government forms. The library is the only place that has the computers and personnel available to help these people with these forms, be they homeless or otherwise. This type of assistance is draining the library of valuable time that would otherwise be being used for the professional level activities of librarianship. The crux of the matter is that, if libraries are expected to take the place of the support staffs of other governmental agencies then they need to be funded and staffed for this job.
I don't have a problem with the librarian having the police remove anyone for being disruptive, regardless of their status. I have not had a problem with the homeless, yet. However, many times, I have been annoyed by school kids and adults talking too loudly, and the occasional screaming baby. When I was homeless and using the library's computer room, I doubt anyone recognized me as being homeless, because I dressed well and behaved properly.
Thank you, Neal, for bringing us Chip Ward. He sounds like a truely empathetic person.
The homeless problem is one of those issues that everyone likes to talk about but no one seems to do much about. I would like to see the question about what to do with the homeless made an issue in the upcoming presidential election. It is a true disgrace that our wealthy nation puts the mentally ill among us in jail or leaves them to wander the streets or hang out in public libraries rather than provide hospitals and clinics for their care and treatment.
I am a registered Republican who was a social worker during the reign of Ronald Reagan. My clients, co-workers and I were witnesses to his administrations distruction of the mental health care systems first here in Calif. and then the nation despite our protests.
With the increase in mentally disturbed vets coming back from the current wars, the current problem is going to become much larger.
I have not voted for a Republican presidential candidate since Reagan was govenor and I wont vote for any candidate of any party who doesn't commit to restoring a competent and compassionate mental health system in our country. I hope others will also quiz candidates about this important issue.
As much as I enjoy listening to TOTN, topics like these leave me discomfited, if only because it seems to lead to an "us vs them" mentality. We all seem to have our boxes to fit into, don't we? The homeless, the mentally ill. It makes people themselves seem abstract, even dehumanized, to some degree.
When I use libraries, either public or university based, I am an instant inconvenience and a category, because I am disabled, and a power chair user. Should I be worried now that I will be shunned because my motor makes a noise, because my posture is palsied, because my body will never look normal regardless of my attire? The more things change the more they stay the same seems apt in this case. Are we really debating odor and behavior, or is class status the primary concern?
At least the Salt Lake City Public Library has a "homeless season." Here in Dallas, we are their year-round sanctuary due to Texas' heat. I have to say, however, as a library employee, I've found the majority of *all* of our patrons, whatever their income or social status, to be reasonably respectful of the rules, and grateful for library services.
Here in Albuquerque, our main Library branch is a haven for the homeless and the criminals that prey on them. I no longer patronize that location but when I did I saw people injecting themselves with heroin, knife fights, people smoking crack, prostitutes of both genders at "work", sex offenders being arrested, and yes and plenty of pornography being viewed on the "open use" computers. If a patron is caught committing a crime by security why aren't they forbidden from coming back to the library I asked??? Because where else would they go and they have rights too I was told. Needless to say I know longer go to the main library...
I think it is important to note that while all urban public libraries, almost all rural public libraries, and many suburban public libraries are providing many services to homeless persons, mostly it's regular library services that are being provided: a novel to pass the time, referral to a social service agency, a website that helps answer a pressing question, a CD to listen to. One way to think about people who are homeless is as temporarily homeless (just lost a home in a foreclosure, but has support network in another city or just left an abusive relationship but has a support system in another city), as homeless & without a support network--while striving to be back in a permanent home (this is a big group of people--some mentally ill, some victims of abuse with no support network, some released prisoners with no support network, and so forth), and as service-resistant (generally homeless for a long time and not seeking services--again, some mentally ill, some veterans, some former inmates who have given up, and so forth). Libraries, working closely with local police, emergency services, social services, and others, can address the very real information and other library needs of all groups, while severely decreasing the abuse of the library by some member of--usually--the service-resistant group. It is not necessary for public libraries to become de facto shelters, nor is it necessary for them to try to ban all homeless people. Libraries can find a way to provide library services to everyone in the community who wants them.
I agree with the "housing first" concept. Providing shelter is less costly than the frequent emergency room visits and incarcerations which occur when homeless. Hawaii's homeless population skyrocketed as the cost of housing outpaced incomes. Pets are being treated more humanely than humans. Not everyone is academically gifted to become employed in a high paying profession and corporations aren't exactly focusing on retention. A self monitored environment, similar to neighborhood watches, along with government sponsored social services and intervention just might facilitate a sense of pride and boost self esteem which is so often eroded when living on the streets.
Call me an idealist, but I have always had this perception of libraries as being havens of englightenment not havens for the mentally ill, drug and alcohol addicted transients. As a high school, college student and now parent of a student, I have seen this transition taking place over the years. One of my biggest concerns is using the bathrooms after a homeless person had been in there taking care of ALL their grooming and hygene necessities. There is usually never any TP, towels or soap available. What a sad commentary on how our "advanced" society takes care of its less fortunate.
I am a manager at the Oakland, California, Public Library system, and wanted to share one easy practice we've developed for the occasional person who crosses that subjective line into "smells too bed to stay inside." We have a printed list of local service providers who provide a place to take a free shower. Giving this piece of paper to someone is not easy, and some people have reacted in an offended way. However like all our contact with library users, this is just another instance where our staff can use good customer service skills to provide information that while useful and helpful, may not be entirely welcome.
Maybe shelters should create a quiet annex building where homeless can relax, have some amenities and books. Perhaps they will stay there, and yet still be able to come to the libraries if they wish. It is a shame to see all the money spent making war and not nurturing the sole and heart of the Americans most in need.
Reading Chip's article makes me wonder what would happen if libraries refused to serve as de facto ER's, homeless shelters, and psych wards. Publicly funded institutions, staffed by trained personnel, exist provide these services.
Librarians accept less money than they could make in many other occupations to work in a learning environment, where their efforts can have a direct, beneficial impact. Asking them to endure verbal and physical abuse,and risk their safety,performing tasks for which they are neither trained nor paid is unreasonable.
Great Article
I feel terrible if this is indeed what's going on. But I also feel frustrated about the homelessness in hospital waiting areas. I work in a hospital and I can't say enough how upsetting it is to walk in to work and see a waiting room full of homeless sleeping on chairs. We have shelters they can go to but they refuse. Then when we ask them to leave because their tresspassing, they sign in to be seen for something made up like congestion, back pain or depression. How can we stop this from continuing??? Its unsafe, unhealthy and unprofessional as a real patient to go to a hospital with your kids and this is what you have to put up with!!!
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