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Dowdell, L. & Liew C. L. (2019) More than a shelter: Public libraries and the information needs of people experiencing homelessness. Library and Information Science Research v.41

Dowdell and Liew make the point that previous existing research regarding libraries and people experiencing homelessness does not cover the New Zealand context well, particularly in relation to their unique cultural context that includes the Maori and Pacific Island communities. Their goal for the paper is to examine the information seeking behaviours of people experiencing homelessness in a NZ library context to fill that gap. They set out to look at how this community are using public libraries to meet their information needs and how well the libraries are supporting their information needs. They hoped to understand how public library policies and practices could enable a more equitable and effective use of public libraries to meet their information needs. A barrier to this community in using public libraries described by the authors (identified in other research mentioned in their literature review) was that of a distrust of institutions, and the perceived inability of the community
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Seattle Public Library Programs for People Experiencing Homelessness

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This video explains some of the actions taken by the Seattle Public Library to meet the needs of communites without homes, including those living in 'encampments'. There are some parallels with the work being done by Yarra in the programs that take mobile internet hubs out to communities so they can use the internet for free.  My favourite line in this video is toward to start where the presenter says: "The libraray is an engine room for equality". I like this as as it recognises libraries ashaving a capacity to not only be places for everyone, but also as a place that can generate ideas, actions and processes that can support equality. I like the ideas of building, generating, creating and activating change that focus on equality. 
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Barone, Mariekie, et al. "Developing a Model Policy for Public Libraries to Address Homelessness & Mental Illness." Delaware Journal of Public Health 6.4 (2020): 46.

Barone, Mariekie, et al. "Developing a Model Policy for Public Libraries to Address Homelessness & Mental Illness."  Delaware Journal of Public Health  6.4 (2020): 46. Although this article has a very American context, it is a useful publication in that in contains suggested content to include in a library policy regarding library users experiencing homelessness and mental illness - this will of course be sometimes the same people and sometimes not. The article gives some background into the needs of these communities and provides some brief case study notes of existing examples of collaborations between publuc libraries and homelessness and mental health service providers. This is followed by a section that lists and explains briefly what a policy should include: Purpose of Policy  A statement focused on how the specific policy will address the interface of libraries, homelessness and mental health. Specifically identifying areas of service needs, existing programming, c
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American Libraries - Letter from Public Library Directors and Social Workers

https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/letter-from-public-library-directors-and-social-workers/ This letter was written and signed by 12 American library directors and social workers and identifies some highlights of how they are working with their communities. These highlights are: Trauma-informed care Homelessness A focus on behaviour Creating welcoming spaces Person-first language It provides a great list of like-minded people in American libraries.
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Adams, C., & Krtalić, M. (2021). I feel at home: Perspectives of homeless library customers on public library services and social inclusion.

  Adams, C., & Krtalić, M. (2021). I feel at home: Perspectives of homeless library customers on public library services and social inclusion.  Journal of Librarianship and Information Science , 09610006211053045. This is an interesting article as it has a New Zealand perspective - so not US, and allows the experiences of the people experiencing homelessness to be heard. These are the stated goals of the study reported in the paper: "The goal of this study was, therefore, to examine homeless patrons’ perspectives on public libraries, including their use of general library services and those targeted specifically toward the homeless, and in what ways engagement with library services affects their feelings of social inclusion. In doing so, this paper aims to contribute to the literature by offering insights into what constitutes effective public library programming and targeted services for homeless people." Page 1 This study interests me because it engages with the idea th
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Mariekie Barone, Stacie Fifelski, Alexandra Stocker, Thomas Worm, Ashley Patterson, Jessica Braamse, & Robert S. Lathers. Developing a Model Policy for Public Libraries to Address Homelessness & Mental Illness

Barone, M., Fifelski, S., Stocker, A., Worm, T., Patterson, A., Braamse, J., & Lathers, R. S. (2020). Developing a Model Policy for Public Libraries to Address Homelessness & Mental Illness.  Delaware Journal of Public Health ,  6 (4), 46. This US article describes a student project that set out to develop policy for libraries to frame their support of people experiencing homelessness and mental illness (interesting to lump these together). As part of their project they ran a survey that had 60 responses. Each library was asked:  What specific policies were in place that pertain directly to individuals experiencing homelessness?  What was the general experience of front line staff with the homeless population?  What type of training did they receive in this area? Did their branch(es) had a social worker on site and what community collaborations were in place to better serve the homeless population? One part of the article mentions -'a trauma-informed approach to working wit
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Amanda Aykanian et al, (2020) Library-Based Field Placements: Meeting the Diverse Needs of Patrons, Including Those Experiencing Homelessness

 Amanda Aykanian, Peggy Morton, Kathi Trawver, Lane Victorson, Sarah Preskitt & Kimberly Street (2020) Library-Based Field Placements: Meeting the Diverse Needs of Patrons, Including Those Experiencing Homelessness , Journal of Social Work Education, 56 :sup1, S72-S80, DOI: 10.1080/10437797.2020.1723757 The abstract of this article makes the point that libraries are places that vulnerable people visit, and that librarians, like social workers are frequently advocates and supporters of these visitors. They then go on to say that librarians may not have the skills and knowledge to deal witht he complex needs of such people and that is where social workers come in handy.  The authors identify libraries as "second responders, stepping in when needed services are unavailable or inaccessible". The authors describe how libraries emerge as a reflection of their users' needs - they design programs, spaces and resources in response to the needs of the community they serve. But
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