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 that public libraries can have an influence on social inclusion for people experiencing homelessness. I am also interested in what library programming and services are of interest and use for this community. 

The literture review is a good study of the recent literature including the names and papers you would expect to find on this topic. There is an interesting mention of the role of library staff and the training that they might receive to enable them to work more confidently with patrons with complex needs (interesting language here). They cite Anderson et. al. (2012) stating "Anderson et al. (2012: 186–187) applied the gatekeeper model in response to this issue, suggesting the development of training programs to enable library staff to liaise effectively with support agencies and link homeless people with appropriate social services, rather than expecting library staff to function as social workers." This statement interests me because I would have thought the act of liasing effectively with support agencies and the linking of people with appropriate social services actually is the work of social workers. I think this speaks to the issue of 'What is library work, and what is social work , and how do they differ when it comes to working with people experiencing homelessness?' Is it not the provision of information to those who seek it? Could that provision not include referring people to agencies and organisations that could meet their needs, whatever they are? If yes, then how to distinguish between the work of social workers and library workers in the realm of 'customer service'? If we do as Anderson suggests and we train 'library staff to liase effectively with support agencies' are we not asking them to do the work of social workers? And is that wrong?

The authors also write of the tension between the belief and values of librarianship that all people have equal rights, and the discrimination that can target rough sleepers if they have large bags, or poor hygiene or choose to sleep in the library when these things are forbidden by library rules. The authors also mention an example, taken from Giesler (2017) of positive discrimination towards people sleeping rough being alowed to stay in libraries during cold weather.

This quote needs some following up: "Examples of attitude barriers are also illustrated by discussions in the literature of the distinction between “worthy” homeless people such as families and veterans, and the “undeserving” homeless, who include single men and those facing addictions or mental health issues (Ayers, 2006: 68; Kelleher, 2013: 28)." Is this really an example of library staff making judgements about the relative 'worthiness' of some people over others?

A short summary of existing services identified from the literature is given: "Public library services for homeless people are evolving from off-site outreach programs into in-library service design and delivery (Giesler, 2017: 192). Examples of targeted public library services include information and digital literacy classes (Bunic, 2013: 36; Dowdell and Liew, 2019: 6; Racelis, 2018: 4), employment skills (Collins et al., 2009: 112; IFLA, 2017: 43), referral services (Ayers, 2006: 71), the provision of social workers in public libraries (Cuseglio, 2021: 2; Giesler, 2019: 21; Hill, 2016: 2; Provence et al., 2021: 1; Wahler et al., 2020: 35), and the engagement of homeless people as library volunteers (IFLA, 2017: 45; Lloyd, 2020: 51)."

This is interesting: "Dowdell and Liew (2019) undertook a phenomenological study on informationseeking behavior of the homeless which involved interviewing homeless people and staff in libraries in a large region of New Zealand. In contrast to Auckland City Libraries, none of the participating organizations in Dowdell and Liew’s study had targeted services in place for their homeless customers; however, the libraries were still recognized as meeting information needs through the provision of services such as free internet and welcoming staff." So this suggests that this community didn't need specific programs, services or spaces to have their information needs met, which is great. But what about other needs? What about the other things that libraries can provide to their users? Maybe these were being met, but just not reported on by Dowdell and Liew? Or maybe Adams just didn't need to mention it. Worth following up and reading Dowdell and Liew.

Methodology:

One thing to consider about this paper is that the participants were approached through the library outreach staff member. This implies that there was an existing relationship between the participants and the library. It is possible different data would be gathered from participants who do not have an existing relationship with a library. This was done due to the difficulty in identifying homeless users and the potential to offend people by asking if they were homeless.

Discussion:

The authors make the observation, using Anderson's idea of gatekeeping, that library staff can be connectors of people experiencing homelessness and service providers. They also state that the employment of social workers in libraries can help with the prevention of role confusion between library workers and 'social work' tasks. I think it would be interesting to include some questions in a staff survey about what they think 'library work' is? Is there role confusion? Do public library staff see their role as including connecting patrons with social service providers? Do they see their role as including taking someone aside if they appear to be struggling to see what is wrong and if there is a way they can help.