Libraries and the homeless: caregivers or enforcers

Silver, Judi

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/78243 Copy

Description

Title

Libraries and the homeless: caregivers or enforcers

Author(s)

Silver, Judi

Issue Date

1996

Keyword(s)

• Libraries and the homeless
• Homeless persons

Abstract

"During the 1980s, varied social forces converged, resulting in a devastating downward spiral of the economic capabilities of the middle and lower income classes. The aftermath of urban renewal, de-industrialization, deinstitutionalization, and Reaganomics left a ruin of homeless people in its wake. With limited appropriate shelter available, many uprooted people were forced to seek protection from the elements in public buildings such as airports, bus stations, and libraries. As the homeless sector has grown, the dilemma of management has become an issue in public libraries where individuals bathe and wash clothing in the restrooms, sleep in the reading chairs, and occasionally exhibit offensive behavior toward patrons and staff. Finding creative resolutions to the plight of the homeless is a societal quandary amplified by a growing public backlash against the ""problem that won't go away."" As the number of homeless displaying aggressive characteristics increases, the body of sympathetic and compassionate citizens decreases. The phrase ""compassion fatigue"" characterizes America's ambivalence to the homeless and other world tragedies (""Libraries for All"", 1991). How we treat people of suffering is a reflection of how we view the afflicted, either as victims or as socially irresponsible people. The concepts we, as individuals have, are collectively demonstrated in the policies enacted at the local, state, and federal levels. Are we care givers and keepers or agents of enforcement?"

Publisher

Graduate School of Library and Information Science. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Series/Report Name or Number

Katharine Sharp Review ; no. 002, Winter, 1996

ISSN

1083-5261

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/78243

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 1996 is held by Judi Silver

Owning Collections