Libraries and the Homeless - Miranda DeArmond

So, honestly, I don't know much about libraries and the homeless.  I work in a library at a private catholic school, and it isn't usually the type of student we have.  For one of my library school classes (I heard a librarian call it that once and it made me smile so I now call it library school) I watched a movie called The Public.  It's about a bunch of homeless people who lock themselves in the library and have a standoff with the police.  It definitely gave me a new perspective on how people use the library.  I remember wondering if this kind of thing really happens.  If you haven't seen it you should check it out.  So basically, that is the extent of my knowledge in this area.  That being said, I wouldn't be a library lady if I couldn't fall back on my trusty research skills.  The first place I checked out was the ALA website.  They had a bunch of interesting information that I could use as a jumping-off point. If you're interested check out their website ALA - Libraries respond to Poor and Homeless People

Then my research journey continued on to an article from American Libraries about homeless camping on library grounds. I had always thought of homeless people using the library facilities, but I had never thought about them camping in the parking lot.  I mean it makes sense, especially in Southern California.  The article talks about how homeless camping can create difficulties for the library patrons and the staff. The article states that at one library, "She estimates that a quarter of the library staffers’ time was spent mediating disputes between people living on the grounds and other patrons." That's a lot of time. But the ban that some libraries are placing on camping was a tough decision for many.  They didn't want to just be seen as trying to shuffle people around so they became someone else's problem.  As I read through the article, I thought about how I would act or think if I had to walk through a parking lot of homeless people camping out to get to the library.  I thought more about how I would act if I worked at that library.  Would I deal with people compassionately?  Would I judge them by the way they look or smell? These are questions that I think I will need to meditate on more.  You can check out the article here Give Them Shelter?

While refining my searches, I found some great videos as well.  ABC News Prime had a wonderful story about libraries being on the front lines of the homelessness crisis.

After spending some time with this topic I feel I need to re-evaluate myself.  This is something I have never dealt with, but I should probably learn more about.  I think I just brushed the surface.  If I had searched more, this could definetly be a rabbit hole that I may not find my way out of.  

“Libraries Respond: Services to Poor and Homeless People.” ALA, 19 Aug. 2019, www.ala.org/advocacy/diversity/librariesrespond/services-poor-homeless.

Carlton, Amy. “Give Them Shelter?” American Libraries Magazine, 3 June 2019, americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2019/06/03/give-them-shelter-library-camping-bans/.