Homeless people in the library is always an issue– even Emilio Estevez knows this (I know I keep mentioning this movie but I’m a bit fascinated with it), but it seems that the Friends of the West End Branch Library in Washington DC have solutions to the problem plaguing their library. A new manager came on board at this library about a month ago, and was immediately presented with a list of ideas that the Friends had come up with to make the library less attractive for the undesirables.
Included in the report are these gems:
There is a strong sense in the community, reflected in survey answers and appended written comments, that the homeless population’s use of the library is a deterrent to greater use by other patrons.…Those who do use the library are older, wealthier, better educated, and less racially diverse than the general population of the District; and, therefore, the collection, programs, and services for this particular branch, like all branches, should be tailored to the population it serves.
These older, richer, and whiter people need more literary fiction recommended by the New York Times, and so the report suggested that the library procure more. Also, these older, richer, and whiter people need fewer self-help books, a genre that the library now stocks up on. The report also rather explicitly states that the library should find ways to rejigger the balance of homeless to non-homeless users of the library:
The West End Library should be open and welcoming to every person who wants to use it. However, the consistent use of the branch as a day center by the downtown homeless population, not unique to the West End, is a major deterrent to other patrons wishing to use the branch. Therefore, the Committee has made and implemented several recommendations that will mitigate the use of the branch by those without a home base. These recommendations rearrange the reading room, brighten the interior and exterior of the building, and suggest programming to attract more of the non-homeless patron.
I think I’m a pretty creative person, but I’m at a total loss as to how to tailor programming so that it attracts a non-homeless person (although effing.librarian has some very good ideas). Are they currently offering programs that rich, white people have no use for like book talks exclusively about self-help literature? I’m not even going to comment on the literary nature of most of the books on the New York Times Bestseller’s list, but here’s a link to this week’s where names like Danielle Steel, Nicholas Sparks, and Laurel K. Hamilton stick out.
Another suggestion made by the Friends was to install blinds so that the homeless would not be able to keep an eye on their wordly possessions once inside the library. When asked what she would do if the library became inhospitable, one homeless person said that she would migrate to another library, “I come here because it’s a place to get out of the elements, rest,” she says. “There’s a computer so you can advance your skills. It’s also a good setting because the homeless people who home here are into books, reading. I’d rather come here than loitering in the streets every day, sitting on the benches.”
When I first started working in public libraries, I mentioned to my mother something about the large number of homeless and transient people who came in daily, and she was surprised, “you mean they just hang out all day, reading?” she asked. “They’re probably better read than a lot of the people I work with, if that’s all they do.”
I think she was a little bit jealous.
Admittedly, there are homeless patrons who are unruly, stinky, and overstay their welcome; but then there are some who are funny, and interesting, and so completely grateful to be treated like human beings that it would give even the hardest-hearted person warm fuzzies. Also, there’s the ever-present conundrum– where else are they supposed to go? If the shelters close at 8am, and they don’t have jobs, what then? I sincerely doubt that the affluent, white people in DC would prefer bodies clogging up the sidewalks, and I can’t imagine what kind of report that would elicit.
Filed under: A Day in the Life, By: The Librarienne, News, libraries | 6 Comments
Tags: Emilio Estevez, Friends of the Library, homeless, NewYork Times Bestseller list, self-help, Washington D.C.
The Friends in this case, don’t really have much of a perspective on the situation. Chances are ‘The Friends’ themselves AREN’T homeless or need self-help books. It would be nice if ‘The Friends’ had a bit broader base (i.e., other than well-heeled, well-educated retirement age people), but goodness knows, that is difficult to achieve at best. The best hope I think is getting young people and students involved, mixing it up a little.
Aren’t those the people who roll their eyes and say if they want a book, they’ll go to Barnes and Noble?
I’d also like to point out that among the suggestions were: brighten the interior and exterior of the building, and also add shades.
When libraries are just flush with cash– like these trying economic times– it makes perfect sense to purchase something that will increase the electric bill. Plus do they think that homeless people are turned off by light, are homeless people like vampires, in that regard?
It seems like these “Friends” like having a library in their neighborhood that looks nice and helps with the overall ambiance, forgetting what the actual function of a library is. Are the homeless really what’s keeping patrons away or is it a more convenient excuse than the alternatives?
I don’t know If I said it already but …Cool site, love the info. I do a lot of research online on a daily basis and for the most part, people lack substance but, I just wanted to make a quick comment to say I’m glad I found your blog. Thanks,
A definite great read..Tony Brown