“What They Didn’t Teach Us in Library School”
Saw this article, The public library as an asylum for the homeless, a few days ago in my Bloglines current awareness feeds.
From my days as a librarian in public libraries (Chattanooga (1996-1997) & (Brooklyn (1995)) and as library technical assistant (NYPL Research Library on 42nd & 5th (1991-1993) I can say that the homeless situation is not really a “new” phenominon. While I was more aware of the less-than-mentally-healthy people when I wasn’t in NYC, we had plenty of patrons in all three public libraries that I watched pretty closely — my attitude adjustment specialist job history meant I was usually in “bouncer mode” when certian patrons came in just in case an incident occurred.
If you have not read (and told people about) this article, I encourage you to spread the word about how libraries have taken on a social support safety net role in communities which, if they go away, will leave many poorly served, needy people without any help at all. Yes, that is a plaintive bleat; but it’s nonetheless true.