At least in Milford, public reaction was concerned, not outraged, with residents asking what they could do and bringing food and blankets to campers. “As for those who camp outside, they were all born in Milford, grew up in Milford,” says Angeli. “They went to school here and ran into difficulties. They are members of our community. One of the advantages of the library, which serves as a refuge for the homeless, is that it offers librarians the opportunity to fulfill their role in providing information and services that enable the poor and homeless to participate fully in democratic society and become competent users of information and active citizens. Librarians can provide homeless people with quality information and services using a number of strategies. A public library “must be a safe place for individuals and families – both housed and uninhabited,” Nishimoto said recently. “If there are legitimate safety gigs because (some) people are present, cities should take the initiative to reach out to mental health providers, homeless advocates and other partners who can help find solutions in a safe way for everyone involved. For nearly two decades, Lisa Dunseth has loved her work at San Francisco`s largest public library, especially her last seven years in the rare books department.
Libraries have long been one of society`s great equalizers, providing knowledge to anyone who desires it. As public buildings, often with long working hours, they have also become orderly refuges for people who have nowhere else to go. In Los Angeles County, where more than 60,000 people live homeless, recent years have tested the limitations of a public library system with more than 80 locations. Other librarians, Hardy said, are simply unaware of the realities of the work. They enter the profession and imagine the comfortable and discreet neighborhood libraries of their youth. Because courts give library rules that are behavioral more leeway and stricter scrutiny of rules based on status or language, it`s important to know how to shape your policies, especially when dealing with specific populations like the homeless. Roberson believes more librarians will have to deal with camping problems, especially after the U.S. Court of Appeals decision in September.
“While it may be difficult to accept at first, I don`t agree with the decision,” he says. “I think it will force Seattle and other cities to step back and stop criminalizing activities, but it will force them to finally talk about real solutions.” ALA`s policy for the poor should be integrated into a library`s objectives, mission, or strategic plan to communicate the importance of these actions and create an environment that values inclusion. A 2009 survey of ALA members on Directive 61 (Library Services for the Poor) found that members were not working with each other and with other organizations to implement the objectives of this policy.32 This suggests that ALA may need to do more to promote the importance of this measure and libraries that provide outreach programs and other services to their poor and homeless in their communities. Provide more resources and support. Lisa Gieskes, coordinator of the ALA Task Force on Hunger, Homelessness and Poverty, also suggests including the “class” category in Amendment Five to the Library Bill of Rights, which protects a user`s right to use the library.33 Late last year, the city of Colorado Springs closed the quarry. its largest homeless camp, forcing its residents to disperse. As a result, says John Spears, executive director of the Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD) in Colorado Springs, camping on library grounds has reached its peak. About 90 people slept each night on the grounds of the PPLD`s Penrose branch, which Britney Spears said fostered a dangerous environment for her regular, unprotected guests when new people entered their camps. “It has become increasingly uncertain and untenable for us to allow it,” he says. However, Britney Spears and her colleagues wanted to think carefully about solutions: “We didn`t want to be another place that just tries to play Whack-a-Mole and push the problem away.” O`Hearn notes that the closed campus proposal, while rejected, still helped the library build stronger connections with other municipal agencies that work with the vulnerable population, such as homeless shelters, police and hospitals. Retherford says the library wanted to give campers plenty of time and information about other locations before the legal process to remove the CCPL camp. “Most people left before there were 48 hours left,” she says.
Some campers even helped others move. In recent years, amid the relentless demand for safety net services, community leaders have called on libraries to formalize this role and expand beyond books and computers to provide on-site outreach and support to street-involved people. In cities large and small, many now offer help accessing housing, food stamps, medical care, and sometimes even showers or haircuts. Librarians, in turn, were called upon to act as social workers, first responders, therapists and security guards. “The public library should be a sanctuary for everyone,” she said. The problem was that she and many of her colleagues no longer felt safe at work. Britney Spears encountered a similar reaction to the PPLD ban. “That was probably one of the most troubling parts – there was a segment of the public who saw the library as one of the last shelters for the homeless, and [they] felt like we had betrayed that, even though people who experienced homelessness didn`t,” he says.
While Colorado Springs Social Services supported the library`s decision and was heavily involved in removing the campers, he said, “many of their self-appointed tutors felt it was unfair.” Some researchers, such as Julie Hersberger, a professor of information science at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, say the biggest barrier for visiting visitors is the attitude of library staff.30 The bullying and indignity experienced by some homeless visitors is a real barrier that libraries can remove by providing awareness and training and implementing the ALA Library Services Policy for Library Services. Poor takeover. The combination of awareness training and education can help reduce staff anxiety or confusion when dealing with homeless guests and educate them about their unique service needs. The San Jose Public Library (California) was aware of the intimidation of homeless guests and, in collaboration with lawyers, social workers, and other community authorities, created special referral services, such as: Targeted one-day workshops focused on the needs of homeless clients.31 In Butte County, on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada, In Northern California, library staff used a $25,000 grant from the state to organize information sessions on mental health issues such as depression. Anxiety and schizophrenia and how to help people access treatment. Books on these topics were labeled green to make them easier to find, said Sarah Vantrease, librarian, who helped build the program. She is now a library administrator in Sonoma County. But many were ill-prepared to transform the clientele, as substance abuse, untreated psychosis, and a lack of affordable housing swelled the homeless population in various U.S. cities and suburbs, especially on the West Coast. Implementing policies that mean little more than “poverty profiling” and that label homeless people as problematic users are ineffective and negative measures that do little to create an inclusive and welcoming public library environment.