In many library settings, librarians are tasked with a wide variety of roles. This includes traditional library work involving books and other media, but also interacting with their communities and helping those who come in not just with finding books but also resources as well. The patrons who frequent public libraries come from widely different backgrounds and cultures. This includes those from less privileged social classes such as homeless individuals. Libraries have a long history of helping out people in their communities, so much so that “social work and libraries developed on somewhat parallel historical trajectories” (Aykanian). Often libraries have connections to social programs, but they also often do work within themselves that benefits patrons. At one public library in Anchorage, Alaska, where there is a significant homeless population, a program was established to train people in “connect[ing] them with community resources” (Aykanian). Understanding where to point people to provide them with additional resources is a significant first step in pulling people out of less fortunate circumstances. Because libraries are information spaces, “they can serve a key role in helping people find resources to end their homelessness or to prevent it" (Lilienthal).
In one circumstance, a librarian was able to help out an unhoused person while working with them during a library event for homelessness. After “noticing that one participant had eye problems, she made calls to a local ophthalmologist and the local Lion's Club to seek treatment” (Lilienthal). Using connections that unhoused people may not have knowledge of or access to is crucial. Individual actions can be just as effective as larger programs, and librarians often are connected to those resources and able to share them with those in need. Having programs connected to the library to provide services for those who may not otherwise be able to afford help is increasingly important after the COVID-19 pandemic, which made issues such as poverty and lack of access to medical care more prominent. Because libraries are free sources of information and other resources such as restrooms and WiFi, it is important for them to be connected to other resources. SJSU librarian Francis Howard states that "’health, legal, and social services and employment agencies should have more of a direct connection to the library because people, whether in need or not, migrate to the library’” (Lilienthal). Therefore, it is important for those working within a library setting to provide the resources within the library to allow people to research on their own as well as be ready to answer any questions they may have, as well as those they may not know to ask.
"Larry and his wife Tess Wynne, both 55, spend part of their day in the Glendale Central Library, in Glendale, Calif., June 26, 2018. They are both homeless and stay in a shelter in Glendale. Tess has some memory issues and is asking Larry for help with a computer game and facebook. He patiently helps her, while he breaks from looking up local apartments that may take a section 8 voucher." (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
Works Cited
Aykanian, Amanda, et al. “Library-Based Field Placements: Meeting the Diverse Needs of Patrons, Including Those Experiencing Homelessness.” Journal of Social Work Education, vol. 56, no. 1, June 2020, pp. S72–80. EBSCOhost, https://doi-org.ezproxy.palomar.edu/10.1080/10437797.2020.1723757.
Lilienthal, Stephen M. “The Problem Is Not the Homeless.” Library Journal, vol. 136, no. 11, June 2011, pp. 30–34. EBSCOhost, https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.palomar.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=61428299&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
No comments:
Post a Comment