Libraries and the Homeless by Leahann Pasquariello

 4 Blog Posts

By Leahann Pasquariello

In downtown Seattle the public library permits the homeless to have free unlimited access to the Internet. It was back in July of 1993 when Seattle initially provided Internet access to the public and was the first to lead the way for other major cities to follow the same path. Of the regular patrons at this branch of the library, there is a particular homeless group, given the name The Internetters, who are noticeably the most enthusiastic users of this library resource. “They don’t have physical addresses but can be reached in cyberspace.” (Eng). The ability to access the information superhighway is in many ways an advantage for the homeless. “The Netters” have become so adept on the Internet that they are even able to leave the library’s menu system and connect with other public terminals on the worldwide Internet. For them this opened the door to email, databases, games, bulletin boards, chat lines, and many other useful and entertaining resources. The library’s coordinator adds that The Netters helped coach staff and patrons on Internet use. 

The Institute of Museum and Library Services reveals that more Americans sought health information from their local library instead of their doctor. “The Pew Research Center in 2016 reported that 38% of people using libraries did so to seek out health information.” (Wahowiak). Since libraries are a free and accessible source to all, including the homeless, it makes sense that they team with public health and education programs, in an approach towards community engagement. Library staff, with backgrounds in public health, at the Queens Library in New York City organized 600 health events across the library’s 53 locations (Wahowiak). Librarians are not healthcare professionals but can offer information to questions that are related to healthcare. 

Work Cited

Eng, James L. "Some Seattle Homeless Go Joy Riding on the Information Superhighway Computers: The downtown library allows the public free hookup on Internet, and those who have nothing but time spend hours tinkering on the worldwide network.: [Bulldog Edition]." Los Angeles Times (pre-1997 Fulltext), Sep 04, 1994, pp. 4. ProQuest, https://login.ezproxy.palomar.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/some-seattle-homeless-go-joy-riding-on/docview/292986078/se-2?accountid=35685.

Wahowiak, Lindsey. "Libraries, public health work together on community health: Settings serve as community hubs." The Nation's Health, vol. 48, no. 8, Oct. 2018, pp. 1+. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A558922088/OVIC?u=cclc_palomar&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=0c54f89a. Accessed 27 Apr. 2022.