Libraries: Issues in Serving the Homeless

Why Do Many Homeless Gravitate to Libraries?

Imagine having no place of your own and being unwelcome at most businesses or other private establishments. Public places may be open to you, but parks and streets may be cold or dangerous, bus and train stations noisy and chaotic, museums and art galleries expensive or lacking places to rest for long. A logical candidate for a reasonably safe, warm in winter, cool in summer, and relatively quiet place to rest for hours undisturbed is the nearest public library.

There are about 16,000 U.S. public library facilities, many of these in urban areas, often proximate to community shelters. In addition to safety, comfort, and accessibility, public libraries offer such facilities and options as these:

• Open Access. Generally, the homeless cannot be turned away no matter their reason for being there, so long as they don't grossly violate the rules. They typically don't need an ID to get in and can use many of the library's services with anonymity. Many libraries are open during evening hours and on weekends.
• Comfort. Unlike the harder, plastic chairs available at some institutions, which are designed to speed people on their way, the library typically offers comfortable chairs that encourage long-term use.
• Sanitation. Clean restrooms are available not only for bodily functions but also for improvised bathing or washing, shaving, and brushing teeth.
• Communication. With ready access to the Internet via computer and a free e-mail address (available from services such as Hotmail or Yahoo), one can easily surf the Internet or send and receive e-mail. This can provide an erstwhile “residence” for a homeless person.
• Companionship. Homeless “regulars” at the same library may well strike up friendships or form a sort of para-community of acquaintances; some even “network” information about shelters, meals, and so forth.
• Entertainment. A library patron can pass the time all day with newspapers, magazines, books, audios, etc.

Best of all, from the point of view of homeless people, is that all these services are free. If libraries didn't close for the night, many homeless individuals would never leave except to get food. And when a downtown library does close, typically a homeless shelter is not far away.

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