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