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Blog Post- Public Libraries and the Homeless

Walt Oliwa, student at Palomar College, for an assignment in LT130 Library Media and Technology

5/23/2024

          The American Library Association points out that public libraries are public places which form community. (Lilienthal, 2011). ALA Policy 61 notes “an urgent need to respond” by libraries to poor in America (Lilienthal, 2011, p30).  I believe that homeless persons do not voluntarily choose to be homeless, but rather circumstances sometimes force people to be. For instance, mental illness, drug addiction, medical conditions, loss of jobs, and even running from legal consequences may mean a person ends up homeless. Rather than argue about the responsibility of the person for their plight, perhaps we as a society can extend a reasonable amount of help, for their benefit and for the benefit of our society also.

          Some libraries have instituted programs to help the homeless. For instance, the San Francisco Public Library provides an outreach program to help people find resources. Other libraries have provided free meals, and even social workers. Libraries can’t solve the whole problem, but we can reorient our view of the homeless as “a problem”, to a call to rally resources.

          I recently volunteered at a local public library and saw the efforts of the library to help the homeless. First, several homeless people take refuge during the day at the library. Also, recently the library got a grant to have a part time social worker in an office there to help people. While this help does not always work out perfectly, it is a step.

          Finally, I want to share a link to a movie which I recently saw called “The Public” (movie). This story of how some people’s perception of an issue can be changed affected me.

References

Lilienthal, S. M. (2011). The Problem Is Not the Homeless. Library Journal, 136(11), 30–34.

“The Public”, movie, Hammerstone Studios, Cedarvale Pictures, E2 Films 2018.

Link to trailer for “The Public” on YouTube. https://youtu.be/6eZtMGM6ya8

Libraries and Student Success: LibGuides

 by Shinichi Evans

In bringing up that libraries are essential to student success, especially academic libraries, the response can easily be “Of course libraries are essential to student success. They have books, computers, WIFI, and lots of space to study.” While all these things help student success, there are services school libraries provide such as creating LibGuides. Often, this is a webpage that allows the student to see this helpful info anywhere with their phone or laptop. The question is, how helpful are these resources librarians create for student success?

Libraries and Homelessness

 by Shinichi Evans

The Public, a film focused on libraries and the homeless population, focuses on how libraries provide a space for homeless individuals as a community hub but also to escape the conditions of the harsh Cincinnati winter. The library, as managed by the librarian Stuart Goodson (portrayed by Emilo Estevez), also functions to fill the gaps not met by social workers as Goodson talks to the homeless individuals who regularly hang out at the library and hears their stories and humors their eccentricities. He must also address sticky situations, like dealing with highly disruptive individuals suffering from mental illness. Missing from this narrative is how the information needs of this population can be met in favor of the library becoming an impromptu night shelfter as Goodson gets pulled into their protest.

Libraries as Social Hubs: Building Online Community to support the Offline Community

 By Shinichi Evans

In the offline world, libraries function as social hubs with programs and events to reach the community. While people do come together seating at tables, chairs, and cubicles to read, study, or use the WIFI, libraries bring people together more directly through story times, workshops, maker spaces, and events hosted at the library. Individuals may find out about these programs through fliers displayed at exits or a literal message board in a prominent place… or they may find out about these things through the libraries website or more so through its social media site.

Libraries and Social Media: Authenticity in Library Social Media Accounts

by Shinichi Evans

The challenges of using social media for the library is that social media is constantly changing and the user engagement can vary from platform to platform. Even the platforms themselves can change how engagement occurs, such as the limiting or pushing of posts (due to algorithm changes) while users connecting with some types of posts more than others. Also, each of these applications reach some demographics more than others (especially in age) like Instagram and Tik Tok and some even have different purposes, like how LinkedIn appeals to job searchers and those making professional connections. In any case, these applications require understanding the audiences who use them and appealing to them as the account author who is authentic.

Libraries and Student Success

 By Karen Cosmano

Libraries are known to help with student success. For elementary school aged children, the school librarian often collaborates with teachers to expand and deepen learning activities. Library time for read-alouds allows children to have repeated and diverse experiences with different topics. Library classroom activities can be set up to reinforce learning and promote stronger information recall (Betts). The California Department of education has conducted research that shows a strong relationship between student engagement in library programs and increased achievement, especially at the high school level (https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/lb/caschoollibraries.asp). There is a plethora of college and university research that concludes with similar findings.  

A question we might ask is how does social media intersect with school libraries and promote student success? There is plenty of anecdotal evidence that suggests a positive correlation. In a Publishers Weekly article from December 2022, Patricia J. Murphy reports on her discussion with four teachers and librarians about how they use social media. They each used a variety of social media platforms to highlight different library services, new books, encourage conversations, or to portray the library as a fun, educational, inspiring place to be.