Reflections

When I began this class, I was half expecting fourteen weeks of copyright law. I was wildly mistaken. Instead we learned about the different ethical theories and the application of those theories. I learned that the same theory can be used to argue both for and against a particular ethical problem and neither party is necessarily wrong. I learned that ethical dilemmas can be found every day, in every library, if you know how to look. I even learned that library policies can be discriminatory to certain library patrons (whether they mean to be or not.) I learned that there are almost as many viewpoints on some topics as there are librarians. I learned the libraries and librarians are not all equal except for some very specific thoughts. I am not just talking about budget, but also polices and staff.

My topic was what the relationship should be between homeless populations and libraries. “What services can and should the library offer? Should we try to help or should we deny access? Should we give them library cards? How can we do that without proper identification and proof of address? Should we change our policies?” These were all questions I hoped to answer.  I learned that libraries have vastly different reactions to homeless patrons. Some try to help them through outreach programs and social workers. Other libraries try to drive them away with policies that could be considered discriminatory and stern enforcement. With each module, I learned that there is no clear-cut answer to my questions and that every library handles the idea a little differently. As I researched the materials for each part of my blog presentation, I learned that there are differences of opinion even in my own library and my own city. 

I found this class to be interesting and thought provoking. It made me think about myself and my project topic in ways I never had before. I found myself discussing some of the discussion questions and case studies with my co-workers to find out what they thought and felt about the various ideas and ethical theories.

Homelessnes Infographic

 

This info-graphic is available to use with a creative commons license. 

"Homelessness Facts,"  Environmental and Social Resources Center. Accessed April 10, 2018. https://esircworldwide.com/social-issues/homelessness/.

Webinar: Understanding and Serving People Experiencing Homelessness

I attended “Understanding and Serving People Experiencing Homelessness: A Trauma-Informed Approach to Library Service,” a pre-recorded webinar on the Public Library Association website. Kathleen Guarino, Director of training and The National Center on Family Homelessness at the American Institutes of Research led the webinar.

She opens the webinar by defining homelessness as an individual or family that lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, people who are living in a place not designed as a sleeping space, and people living in temporary shelters or transitional housing arrangements. The term “chronically homeless” is defined as an individual or family that has been homeless for more than one year. Individuals with a serious illness or disability, victims of domestic violence or abuse, those who suffer from a mental illness, and those who suffer from addiction are at a much higher risk of becoming homeless. She discussed the statistics of homelessness in January 2014. The numbers were gathered by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. According to HUD there were 578,000 homeless individuals at the time. More than 20 million individuals and families were living below the poverty line in the United States and were one step away from being homeless.

Next, she discussed the various types of programs that might be available to help homeless people get off the streets. She mentioned homelessness prevention and rapid rehousing programs which help individuals and families relocate and assist with rent to prevent homelessness before it happens. She discussed emergency shelters, which provide temporary shelter usually for a single night. She talked about transitional and supportive housing which help people on a more long-term basis, often the individuals that qualify for these programs have mental illnesses or disabilities.

Then, she discusses public libraries and what they mean to the homeless population. The library public space that is open to all. There is access to resources such as a quiet place to rest and get warm or cool when shelters are closed, internet access or other forms of communications, programs that offer enrichment and entertainment opportunities, restrooms, even just sitting and reading books is enticing to homeless individuals.

She discussed the challenges homeless individuals might face in the public library. Lack of staff education and comfort-levels and the balance of ensuring the safety and comfort of everyone can lead to barriers to accessing library services. Trauma exposure, mental health issues, addiction, and other factors can lead to disruptive behaviors which can make staff members and fellow patrons uncomfortable. Many public libraries have rules pertaining to hygiene issues, sleeping, and other behaviors.

She continued the conversation with strategies public libraries can use to develop outreach services and program focused on homeless individuals. First was listen. Listen to what homeless individuals have to say and try to meet their needs. Learn what resources are already available in the community. Train staff to recognize homelessness and be at least more tolerant of individuals if not accepting. Visit shelters to better understand services and settings. Create welcoming spaces in libraries, not just for homeless patrons, but for everyone. Examine policies for obtaining a library card and using library computers. Offer programs for job training, resume building, or other skills building tasks to help individuals get the training they need to get a job and keep one. Some of these programs simply provide entertainment and enrichment opportunities. Others provide training and help to get individuals off the streets.

Much of the rest of the webinar was devoted to the effects of physical and emotional trauma on and individual. Talking about the psychological tolls and emotional stress of just being homeless and the potential factors that led to an individual’s homelessness. She also talks the triggers of those who have experienced trauma and the disruptive behaviors those individuals might display and suggests guiding principles to use when dealing with these individuals. She further states that organizations should require intensive staff training, change practices and polices and the entire culture of the organization to support those who have experienced trauma.

            The webinar held many good, actionable ideas to help the homeless and help libraries adjust to the idea that homeless patron are patrons too. There was also a lot of good information about homelessness in general that is useful to understand the problem and how to help individuals who are experiencing homelessness. Much of the focus of Ms. Guarino was on the effects of trauma understanding its impact on the brain and the body. While I felt these were important issues, I also felt that her approach was a bit extreme for most libraries. While the uneasy truce that many libraries have with the homeless population is not the best way to address the problem. I don’t feel that retraining the entire staff as social workers and trauma support staff is a viable answer either.

Guarino, Kathleen. “Understanding and Serving People Experiencing Homelessness: A Trauma-

Informed Approach to Library Service” last modified June 3, 2015.              http://www.ala.org/pla/education/onlinelearning/webinars/archive/homelessness. Accessed April 4, 2018.

Video about Homelessness in a Public Library

A Librarian's Guide to Homelessness

Ryan Dowd of HomelessLibrary.com speaks on "The Librarian's Guide to Homelessness". 

He speaks directly to librarians about homelessness, what causes homelessness, what it means to be homeless, the effects of homelessness,  what the public library means to homeless individuals, and how public librarians can interact with homeless patrons to ease tensions and make things run smoothly.

For additional training resources go to www.HomelessLibrary.com.

Outreach to the Homeless Population: Funding Sources

Program Parameters
Assisting homeless patrons transition off the streets through library programs to provide job training and education assistance. With particular focus on families with children and veterans. Materails provided by grant monies may include, but are not limited to:

• Testing materials (Examples: GED, HiSETT, ASVAB, Postal Exams)
• Learning Express Library Database
• Dedicated Job search and training computer(s)
• Hosting Job Fair Events
• Social services outreach

Boeing Employee Community Fund

The Employees Community Fund (ECF)of The Boeing Company offers grant support to qualifying charitable or educational organizations. The ECF awards grants in: Alabama; Arizona; the California High Desert and Southern California; Colorado; Fort Walton, Florida and the Florida Space Coast; Illinois; Missouri; New Mexico; Oklahoma; Oregon; Pennsylvania; South Carolina; Houston, and San Antonio, Texas; Utah; Washington D.C.; and Washington/Puget Sound.

Employee advisory boards work to locally distribute combined employee donations, which are made through recurring payroll deductions or one-time gifts, to nonprofits in their community. Boeing pays all administrative costs so 100 percent of every employee dollar helps strengthen local communities. ECF grants have gone toward community projects such as aiding the homeless, stocking food banks, helping at-risk children succeed in school, providing job training for the unemployed, funding critical health services, supporting veterans programs and more

• All Deadline Dates:
• St. Louis area deadlines
  Health and Human Services Grants annually January 1 to February 1
  Civic, Environment, Education and Arts Grants annually May 1 to May 31
• Deadline Type: Receipt
• Established Date: 18-Mar-2016
• Last Revised Date: 03-Feb-2017
• Next Followup Date: 01-Mar-2018

Swett Foundation Grants

The Ralph and Eileen Swett Foundation's mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of individuals by making grants to charitable 501(c)(3) organizations to fund programs that directly impact the lives of individuals.

The Ralph and Eileen Swett Foundation has developed a particular interest in:
--finding new ways to truly make a difference in the lives of people in need,
--matching or challenge grants whereby a grant from the Swett Foundation can be used to obtain further funds,
--supporting adoption of orphans or foster children,
--supporting the homeless,
--supporting disadvantaged youth
--finding ways to make a pivotal impact on the non-profit organization itself and thus increase its current and/or future services to people in need.
Priority for funding is based on the degree of difference the project will make in the lives of people in need and the cost per individual helped.

• All Deadline Dates:
• Grant inquiries will be accepted at any time. Grant applications are evaluated and voted on for approval at Foundation Board meetings which are held 3 to 4 times a year.
• Deadline Type: Receipt
• Established Date: 13-Mar-2001
• Last Revised Date: 27-Jan-2017
• Next Followup Date: 01-Jan-2018

Caterpillar Foundation

 The Caterpillar Foundation provides program support to nonprofit organizations that fit with the Foundation's mission: to alleviate poverty and put people on a path to prosperity.

The Caterpillar Foundation provides program support to nonprofit organizations through the following categories:
Education: The Foundation supports programs that achieve a measurable knowledge increase, improvement in academic progress, or employment outcomes for individuals. Access to a quality education helps break the cycle of generational poverty, contributes to business growth and builds strong economies. The Foundation invests in holistic programs that focus on:

• Numeracy and Literacy
• Improving Academic Outcomes
• Financial Literacy
• Workforce Readiness

Environment: Restoring the environment while building the local economy is critical to long-term sustainable development. The Foundation supports environmental programs that focus on:

• Restoring natural infrastructure

Basic Needs: When people’s basic human needs are met, they are able to more effectively pursue economic and education opportunities. The Foundation contributes to basic human needs through:

• Food
• Water
• Shelter
• Energy

• Deadline Date:
  01-Jun-2018
• All Deadline Dates:
  01-Jun-2018
• Grants can be submitted from November 1, 2017 through June 1, 2018.
• Deadline Type: Receipt
• Established Date: 10-Feb-1995
• Last Revised Date: 02-Nov-2017
• Next Followup Date: 01-Dec-2018

Homelessness and the Ethics of Information Access By Corina Bardoff

Analysis of:

Homelessness and the Ethics of Information Access By Corina Bardoff

Is it legal or ethical to expel someone from a public library because of their smell? Can the library block access because someone makes other patrons uncomfortable due to appearance or behavior? What are appropriate uses of library facilities? Should there be limits to the amount of baggage that a patron may bring into the library building? The author of this article attempted to address these questions by reviewing literature discussing access, and restriction of access, of the homeless population to the public library. Ms. Bardoff examined books, articles in various publications, behavior policies of several urban libraries, and case law including LIS interpretations to discuss whether blocking access to homeless patrons even passively violates the mission of all public libraries.

The author begins by discussing what is and is not appropriate patron behavior and using existing library behavioral policies to define “problem patrons.” She reviewed appropriate and inappropriate uses of the library and ultimately defined a “problem patron” as someone who disrupted those around them and interfered with their ability to use library services. While some policies listed specific criminal behaviors such as assault, pedophilia, and violating another person’s privacy in the toilets most were “nuisance” type behaviors. She found many similarities. Most libraries prohibit offensive odors, begging, sleeping, bathing, loitering, littering, doing laundry, and bringing wheeled items such as wagons or shopping carts into the building. They require shirt, shoes and adequate clothing to be worn at all times. Most limit the size and number of parcels that may be brought into the library with patrons. For violation of these policies, patrons can be asked to leave, be expelled from the library and library properties for a period of time (usually somewhere between one day and one year) or they could face criminal prosecution depending on the library, the city, and which ordinances are in place.

Next she uses examples of case law to discuss the legality of restricting access to public libraries based on the above policies. While the results of the individual trials were mixed. The general consensus of her discussion is the the library is a limited public forum and  as such, reasonable limits can be placed on behaviors and library usage. Expelling someone from the public library is legal as long as the rules about what constitutes a disruption of use by other library patrons are specific, clear, fair and equally enforced.

Finally, the author discussed whether these library policies are just. Even if they are technically legal, is it right to expel library patrons because they are homeless? Are these libraries failing in the mission of all libraries by restricting access of homeless populations? Bardoff’s overwhelming answer is “yes.” While it is widely considered both legal and justifiable to restrict access to the public library based on odor, appearance, and baggage those libraries are failing to meet the information needs of those poorest patrons. Instead of building barriers to restrict access, they should be building bridges and providing more outreach. The public library may be their only access point to keep in touch with family and friends, read the news, find jobs or housing and even just to read for pleasure. Blocking their access to the library blocks access to that needed lifeline.

The theory being examined in this article is whether it is ethical to expel homeless patrons from a public space such as the library. The theory guiding the research would most likely be ALA/Professional Ethics theory. The population is the homeless in general and in public libraries specifically. I understand and agree with Bardoff’s conclusion,that public libraries should provide free and open access to information, even to and perhaps especially to the homeless. I also understand the plight of the library staff member when faced with a patron whose odor is so bad that it is all you can do to keep from gagging. I understand the looks of horror you get from patrons when you are trying to hush the schizophrenic patron that is telling her invisible crew about cutting up her babies and making them into hamburger. I sympathize with the patron who gives the side eye to the man sprawled asleep in the library chair surrounded by a pile backpacks, bags and boxes of all sizes. I feel the disgust when going to the bathroom area and there is a man picking the lice out of his beard and hair by the communal sinks. I know the sadness of having to call the police to escort someone that I know is homeless out is below zero weather because he is obviously drunk and is highly disruptive. Largely these people are ignored or marginalized. If they are noticed most of the time, it is more of a “there but for the grace of God. . .” kind of thought. There has to be a balance between providing these people access to information and attempting to expel them from the library entirely.

Bardoff, Corina. "Homelessness and the Ethics of Information Access." Serials Librarian 69, no. 3/4 (October 2015): 347-360. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed February 27, 2018).