Ward-Sell, Krista

Orlean, S. (2018). The Library Book. New York: Simon and Schuster.

The Library Book is an extraordinary book which is by turns a history, a crime novel, a biography, and a story of the phoenix-like resilience of an unusual lead character, the Los Angeles Public Library. 

Orlean uses the story of the most destructive library fire in the history of the United States as the start of a larger conversation with the reader of just what a librarian does for a collection. In between the biography of the library are chapters on Orlean’s time with the Librarians of the LAPL, sketches of their projects, their jobs, their passions. One sparkling addition are the chapters on the map collection, one of the most comprehensive in the United States, bolstered by the passing of a colorful hoarder, and a diligent and very lucky Librarian who rescued the collection from obscurity. Many other chapters touch on different aspects of the library’s services, programs and collections. 

Orlean also provides fascinating glimpses into the many small collection specialties in the Library today. Historic Photos in the Digitization Department, all the written works of the previous Head Librarian Charles Lummis. Every chapter is headed by catalog entries of random documents. 

Chapters also cover the fire itself, of the recovery process, the grief of the Librarians who had to come in to work to clean up after seeing their efforts burnt, the heroic story of the coming together of an entire city, from the brave firefighters who fought in horrible conditions,  cleanup volunteers, and fishmongers who froze wet books for preservation. Original interviews with all the participants that could be found alive document the horror of the day as well as the painful recovery. 

Susan Orlean, is also the author of The Orchid Thief, which in turn is the “source material” for the movie Adaptation (a fabulous excoriation of process by which a screenwriter butchers source material for Hollywood screenplays). She is a writer of great talent, which makes this book a joy to read. Orlean touches on every relevant issue in Library Science today, from homeless outreach to the history of the library’s ongoing technological innovation. 

From the perspective of Collection development, the chief lessons learned were first that anything can be of interest to the public, even ephemera. Second, that when the library has been identified by the city as a potential fire hazard, and there are no sprinklers, it’s best to move quickly to acquire them, even in a historic building. Orlean details a heartbreaking account of what was lost.  Protection and proactive action are also a part of collection development.

 In my humble opinion, dear reader, this is the book you should read over the winter break.

Homeless and the Library

Diaz, Cristina

Ruhlmann, E. (2014). A home to the homeless. American Libraries, 45(11/12), 40–44. Retrieved from http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lls&AN=99206614&site=ehost-live&scope=site

The Article: “A Home to the Homeless,” by Ellyn Ruhlmann

This article is about how libraries are a home to the homeless, and how libraries can be more welcoming to the homeless population that visit the library.

This article starts off by discussing different types of homelessness. The article writes, “According to Partners Ending Homelessness, there are three patterns of homelessness. Situational homelessness can occur when someone loses a job, gets evicted, or suffers a particular financial or health crisis. Episodic homelessness differs in that it stems from patterns of behavior and can have multiple causes, including depression and domestic violence and is more common among women and families. A third group—chronically homeless people—comprises less than 18% of the total homeless population.” Chronic homelessness is described as an individual with a disability who has been homeless for more than a year or has had at least four episodes of homelessness in the last three years. It also discusses how the library has become their lifeline in keeping them caught up with the world outside and helps them get access to information on jobs and housing through use of computers.

The main library discussed in this article was Madison, Wisconsin’s Madison Public Library. They interviewed a chronically homeless woman who says she never visited the library before she became homeless. Now, she comes because it’s one of the few places that she can go in where it does not matter if she has money, or the way she’s dressed. She has the same access to services and treatment as any other person who visits the library.

The article also discusses how some of the library policies can make it hard on the homeless population, like prohibiting sleeping bags and large/multiple bags, loitering, offensive hygiene, etc. It goes on to describe ways we can be flexible in this, such as asking them to put their bags somewhere where it won’t get in the way. Some libraries prohibit sleeping in the library. This policy is harder to be flexible, because Librarians need to be sure there isn’t a health concern. So, the article goes on to say that if everything seems fine, allowing patrons to sleep should be fine, as long as they are not snoring, and disturbing other patrons.

The last bit that the article discusses is ways that the library can help the homeless population. Talking to community and churches who deal with the homeless, and finding out what they’d need, all the while looking for potential partnerships. How it used to be that librarians would have to send patrons seeking help to other places, but now, by bringing resources to the library, we can ensure that the “homeless patrons have access to services critical to their welfare.” The article discusses ways that other libraries have done this, like hiring a psychiatric social worker, or health and safety advocates (HASAs) that “help promote services to the poor, including a resource fair that the library hosts in partnership with Project Homeless Connect.”

All in all, I feel that this article does a great job in describing ways that the library has become a lifeline for the homeless patrons that visit the library, and what the library can do to become more welcoming to them. We are now more than just a source of information to those walking through our doors, but we are also, in many ways, their home.

The Librarian's Guide to Homelessness

 

Homeless. [Photograph]. Retrieved from Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest.
https://quest.eb.com/search/300_1172706/1/300_1172706/cite

DiBello, Amy

Librarian's Guide to Homelessness. (2018). Librarian's Guide to Homelessness. Retrieved 2 March 2018, from http://www.homelesslibrary.com/

Although this topic has little to do with collection management, those of us who work in public libraries serve patrons from all walks of life. Our homeless patrons deserve respectful, compassionate service, even in the most challenging instances. 

One of my colleagues at a neighboring library sent me a link to Ryan Dowd's Website: Librarian's Guide to Homelessness.  Dowd has also written a book The Librarian's Guide to Homelessness: An Empathy Driven Approach to Solving Problems, Preventing Conflict & Serving Everyone which is available through the American Library Association's publication page. 

Dowd offers online training in dealing with homelessness in public libraries. Dowd's Website also offers helpful tips on how to respectfully, but assertively handle sensitive conversations about sleeping, snoring, hygiene, panhandling, and patrons burdened with delusions. You can subscribe to his email list for tips and advice on serving your homeless patrons with empathy, respect, and better outcomes. 

A Librarian's Guide to Homelessness

Clifford, Simon
Info266, Fall 2016

Dowd, R. (2013, May 20). A librarian’s guide to homelessness [video file]. Retrieved from 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYiEEhhrFh4&feature=youtu.be

Summary: 

In this video aimed at librarians, Ryan Dowd, the director of a homeless shelter discusses the characteristics and needs common to those homeless individuals who visit libraries, and explores some of the challenges to serving them. The first part of the video is focused on the lived experience of the homeless. The second part, starting about 23:00 minutes in, shifts to focus on effective ways for library staff to interact with homeless patrons. 

Evaluation:

"A librarian's guide to homelessness" is part training, part advocacy. Dowd devotes a lot of time to conveying what it is like to be homeless and why a homeless person might behave in certain ways. In the latter part of the video, he gives a few concrete tips for avoiding escalation or deescalating tense situations. This video does not really cover how to handle major conflicts or other critical situations. It's a bit lengthy at 38:00 minutes, but I personally found it to be very insightful. 

Embedded Social Workers in the San Francisco Public Library

Jonathan P. Bell
INFO 266
May 9, 2016

Fraga, J. (2016). Humanizing homelessness at the San Francisco Public Library. CityLAB. http://www.citylab.com/navigator/2016/03/humanizing-homelessness-at-the-san-francisco-public-library/475740/

Fraga spotlights San Francisco Public Library’s groundbreaking program that brought in a psychiatric social worker as a full-time staff member at the library. Social worker Leah Esguerra has served alongside the information services staff since 2009 connecting homeless library patrons with services and programs. She is the first ever library social worker in the U.S.

As Fraga notes, 67% of San Francisco’s 7000+ homeless suffer from chronic health conditions including physical disabilities and mental health issues. Many of them need treatment, medicine, shelter, and food. The public library is one of the few places homeless people feel safe and comfortable. Esguerra approaches homeless in the library after observing signs of need. As a trained social worker, Esguerra knows how to establish trust. She connects them with core services such as housing and mental health counseling.

An outgrowth of this program was the creation of Health and Safety Associate (HASA) workers who assist Esguerra in connecting homeless to services. The five HASA staff members working under Esguerra are all formerly homeless individuals. They have a rapport with homeless patrons because they’ve been there. Esguerra and HASA workers are the bridge between an at-risk homeless population and much-needed programs and services.

Results are clear. Over 1,000 people have benefitted from the program at SFPL. At the time of publication, 24 U.S. public libraries had developed a similar model of embedded assistance in the library.

Evaluation
Public libraries are situated to help the homeless, and local governments must embrace that fact. SFPL’s trailblazing program placing social workers  in the library is effective precisely because it brings social services to homeless persons in-need, rather than placing the burden on the homeless to find these services. This is a an efficient and compassionate public service innovation. It’s caught on nationwide. My local public library system in Pasadena, CA will soon add social workers in Central Library and selected branches frequented by homeless as part of the city’s robust response plan to the homelessness affecting our community. The staff report to city council cites the success of this SFPL program. Of course it takes commitment and political will to convince elected officials to fund such a bold plan. There will always be detractors calling this government waste. They’re usually the same people complaining that city hall isn’t “doing enough” about homeless! Investment in targeted resources, like embedded library social workers, offers a pathway out of homeless.
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