Web Resources

Single, very thorough, well researched, article discussing the role of libraries in services to homeless patrons. 

Resources, webinars, courses, news articles, groups, and statistics for library staff to consult when handling homeless patrons.

Training Library staff to work confidently with homeless patrons to reduce problems and still remain inclusive.

Download a copy of "Extending Our Reach: Reducing Homelessness Through Library Engagement"
Additional resources available.

Professional Interview

I had an interesting discussion with my interviewee just as I had many interesting discussions for this assignment. I learned that there are many more ethical situations and even ethical grey areas in the library profession than I would have thought. In discussing this assignment with various coworkers and professional friends of mine, I discovered that many professional librarians have different stances on the same ideas and that each person’s personal ethics influence the decisions they make as librarians.

For example, my interviewee is an absolutist on censorship. There is never a time or a place for censorship in any form. Other professional friends think that censorship in certain places, like school libraries, is more acceptable.

One of the most interesting responses I got was to the question, “Can you think of a situation when the only possible response is a potentially unethical one?” Many people could not. My interviewee said: “Person A is kidnapped by person B. The only person who saw and can identify person B is a library staff member, who can access name and address or pull up surveillance video, and potentially save person A's life.  Ethically, the strict responsibility is to protect patron B's information, but it would be awfully hard to live with yourself if you did not share information and then person A was killed or raped by person B.”

We had a lengthy discussion about the homeless population in the library, what the library’s responsibility is to this population, and how the library should handle rising pressure from members of the community to remove homeless people from the building. The overwhelming response, from both my interviewee and my professional friends it that the library must serve the homeless as they serve all patrons and provide them with the information and services that they need regardless of their individual circumstances.

Finally, the most interesting thing about my interview, I feel, was the answer to the question about advice for new an young librarians. The answer was, “Know yourself. Get to know the rationale behind your ethics before they are challenged.” I think that there is much wisdom in this statement. You have to know who you are and why you think the way that you do before you can justify yourself to others and when you are discussing ethical dilemmas you need to justify your decisions, especially to yourself.

Ending Homelessness Collection Development Ideas

Ending Homelessness: Why We Haven’t, How We Can

By Donald W. Burnes and David L. DiLeo

Summary

Nationally renowned experts on the subject of homelessness come together to discuss the complicated and dynamic problem.  They examine the known values, the history of how homelessness became such an epidemic, discuss the politics at work, and offer solutions.

Reasons to Add to the Collection

The editors, Donald Burnes and David DiLeo, is the founder and board chair of the Burnes Center on Poverty and Homelessness at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work.

“A key read.... Delivers solid research on some of the innovative approaches to enumerating, servicing, and housing homeless people, as well as ongoing barriers to ending homelessness for good.” --Editorial review from Michele Wakin, Bridgewater State University

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Housing First: Ending Homelessness, Transforming Systems, and Changing Lives

by Benjamin Henwood, Deborah Padgett,‎ and Sam Tsemberis

Summary

This book is a summary of the Housing First initiative that began in New York City as an new and innovative approach to ending homelessness. The method has been proven to increase housing stability while decreasing the use of drugs and alcohol. As cities and communities around to world begin to duplicate the experiment for themselves, the authors have produced this book to help them. It is complete with research findings and personal stories of those who were helped to get off the streets by the program.

Reasons to add to the collection

All three authors are well-respected experst and leaders of their field, well known for their work with the homeless either through research, mental health, housing services. Tsemberis is the developer of the Housing First project.

Editorial reviews

"This book provides a broad history and framing of homelessness in the United States in which the housing first idea was developed. This was especially helpful for me as I was late into the homeless arena with very little understanding of homelessness, homeless research, Federal funding for homeless programs, and various organizational approaches. Even though I had gained some understanding of homelessness the last ten years, this book pulled together a clearer picture of homelessness and the expansion of the housing first approach nationally and internationally." --Lloyd S. Pendleton, Former Director, Homeless Task Force, State of Utah

"This book is an excellent account of the historic breakthrough of the Housing First approach all over the [developed] world. It explains not only how, but also why Housing First has proven to be the adequate and most effective approach to end homelessness for people with complex support needs. The homes created by Housing First programs offer "ontological security" to the formerly homeless tenants, a term which has been fruitfully used by Deborah Padgett to mark the essential advantages of the Housing First approach. From the beginning the basis for constancy, daily routines, privacy and identity construction is provided, a stable platform for a less stigmatized and more normalized life." --Prof. Dr. Volker Busch-Geertsema, senior research fellow of GISS-institute, Bremen, Germany and coordinator of the European Observatory on Homelessness

Purchase on Amazon

Streetwise Magazine

Summary
Periodical that supplies the homeless population and those at risk of becoming homeless access to tools, resources and employment opportunities. It provides those community members in need "a hand up, not a handout" to help them selves find and keep stable housing, gainful employment, and money management skills to get individuals off the streets and keep them there.  

Reasons to Add to a Collection

Streetwise magazine has been used as a model for many publications of this kind all across North America.

Streetwise offers relevant articles from experts in the field. 

Homelessness in Public Libraries by Yi Ling Wong

The author approached the problem of homelessness in public libraries by first asking some fundamental questions to determine the aspects of the problem at hand and why it is considered a problem in the first place.

The first is, “Why is it considered a problem for homeless individuals to use the library?” Libraries have long been considered a place for all users regardless of race, religion, or social background to come together and learn in a safe and stable environment. They are havens that offer equal access to all. The author points out that while the homeless population are often thought of as being dangerous, smelly and disruptive, “regular” patrons are just as likely to exhibit these behaviors. The information needs of this population are often underserved because their right to obtain a library card and gain full access is in question in many libraries. At the same time she points out the dilemma of offering more services to the homeless while at the same time ensuring that the library is a safe and pleasant place for staff and other users. Serving the needs of all users without compromising the rights of anyone is a delicate balancing act.

Second, she asks, “Who are the homeless?” This author used the following definition:
“According to the Stewart B. McKinney Act (1994), a homeless person is
one who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence . . ..”
The author also included statistics on homelessness from the national Coalition for the Homeless that indicate that it is not an issue restricted to any one gender, age, race, or ethnicity.

Third, the author asks, “Why are these individuals homeless?” The reasons that she cited include but are not limited to: bankruptcy, divorce, unemployment, substance abuse, domestic violence, decline of public assistance, and mental illness. Basically, people lose control of their lives for one reason or another and can no longer pay their bills.

Fourth, she assesses the information needs of the homeless patron and the barriers many libraries have . While some individuals come to the library for a safe, quiet place to rest in a comfortable environment, others wish to access news, find information on government programs, look into housing or even just connect with family and friends. For the part of libraries, they have policies regarding patron behavior, and acceptable use that are prohibitive to homeless patrons in many cases. Some libraries enforce these policies unequally and inconsistently, wishing to err on the side of equitable access for all. There is little to no collaboration between libraries and social agencies. Administrators are reluctant to offend to offend “regular” patrons by being more accommodating or leave the library open to lawsuits by being less accommodating to the homeless populations.

Finally she offers solutions to the issues she raises to light. By writing a comprehensive and clear library policy governing patron behavior and regulating library access and ensuring that policy can and will be enforced consistently, the library can uphold the Library Bill of Rights and offer truly equitable access for all. By ensuring that the library staff have ample access to adequate training and professional development, they can gain the skills they need to not feel intimidated or threatened by disruptive patrons. They can also learn to set their personal biases and prejudices aside when interacting with library users and enforce library policies fairly. By strengthening library collection and adding the resources that the homeless population are likely to need, the library can assist in helping these patrons improve their lives and maybe get off the street. By working collaboratively with various social organizations, libraries can raise community awareness and be proactive in serving the needs of an underserved population.

         Yi Ling, Wong. "Homelessness in Public Libraries." Journal Of Access Services 6, no. 3 (July 2009): 396-410. Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed January 23, 2018).