Library Kiosk for Homeless

Abstract The homeless population is large and growing in Portland Oregon, and still they seem an unrepresented patron group in the neighborhood libraries. This service proposal suggests bringing the library to them, out in the community, in order to better serve their needs and become an introduction to library services in general, possibly leading towards more familiarity with the offerings of the library and the buildings themselves.

Library Kiosk for Homeless

Services for Diverse Populations LI833 Library Kiosk for the Homeless heather j elliot May 2013

Multnomah County Library system serves many diverse communities with its eighteen neighborhood branches. It is leading the way with We Speak Your Language, a way of thinking that targets the five major languages spoken within the population of Multnomah County by insuring there is bilingual staff present at all locations and hosting a variety of events, such as storytime, in different languages. Multnomah County Library also has extensive programming for youth. The one hundred year old summer reading program is a popular activity for school age children and storytimes for little ones are hosted in at least one of the library locations on a daily basis. These are the areas in which Multnomah County Library system excels. Recent budget crisis have seen the adult programming suffer however. Few lectures and arts events are planned and library outreach minimally delivers to local retirement communities as well as the homeless shelters. Currently there are bimonthly (every two months) deliveries made to nearby shelters including crates of books, mostly comprised of donations from the public and some library discards. These are very general in scope, but can be tailored to fit the needs of the shelter in question. For instance, if it is a shelter that serves a mostly migrant

Library Kiosk for Homeless worker population, Multnomah County will see that enough Spanish books are included, or childrens books, etc. depending on the community. While the library does serve the homeless to some extent, it is not nearly enough and only scratches the surface of their information needs. People experiencing poverty of homelessness constitute a significant portion of users in many libraries today and this population provides libraries with an important

opportunity to change lives. As the numbers of poor children, adults, and families in America rises, so does the urgent need for libraries to effectively respond to their needs (ala.org; Outreach Resources for Services to Poor and Homeless People). Portland is home to a large percentage of homeless. This is due in part to a mild climate and a strong base of advocacy servicing them with daily meals, shelters, even clothing and hot showers. Homelessness includes those who sleep outside, those sleeping in temporary shelters or transitional apartments, those sleeping in cars, and those who sleep on the couches of friends or relatives when they are between homes. Since this encompasses such a wide variety of situations, some estimates calculate the Portland homeless population at as many as 4,000 per night (Citizens Commission on Homeless. Home Again. December 2004). Of course these studies can never be accurate, as the population in question is so transitory and many quite invisible. The who of homelessness has been defined, but the why takes some explaining. The homeless are homeless for many reasons. Some contributing factors to todays epidemic include the closing of state institutions in the 1980s to present day, which housed and cared for the mentally disabled. This was done in an effort to not only save costs, but to integrate that marginalized population back into

Library Kiosk for Homeless society, which left many uncared for, with no safety net, and without programs in place for such a move. Drug and alcohol addiction also factor in as does the

everyday working poor living paycheck to paycheck, and easily blindsided by a large medical bill or a job loss. Looking around, at times it is easy to stereotype the homeless community as being composed predominantly of middle-aged men who may or may not be veterans of war (this is 9% of the Portland homeless). They are still the majority, with just over 50%, but this is changing. In the Portland area alone, the fastest increasing segment of the homeless population are those fleeing from domestic violence, women and children, at 35%. The library is one of the few public spaces left for the homeless to go during the day when shelters close their doors. And while the homeless may not be harassed there, they are far from welcomed. Because many carry all of their worldly possessions with them, and no bag checks currently exist in the library settings, it makes it difficult to come into the public space. Always aware they are taking up more room than the average individual, they are burdened with their bags and at times leave them unattended to take a quick trip to the restroom and return to find their belongings gone altogether or confronted by staff or security who approach with warnings about leaving bags unattended. Suggesting a bag check seems an easy alternative, though many of the library branches are pressed for space as it is and they have not enough staff to cover such a thing, as well as the hygiene issues that may arise. An overabundance of possessions carried on ones person is not the only obstacle for the homeless actually accessing and using the library buildings as

Library Kiosk for Homeless they have every right to do. Behavioral problems, possibly due to mental illnesses or medications or lack there of and also offensive body odor can lead to exclusions from library premises. Many homeless people feel uncomfortable to begin with, their situation, their dress, etc. and are humiliated when confronted by staff, security, or other patrons. People experiencing poverty or homelessness face many barriers to library service. Some of which, taken from the ALA website, are: library card or access policies requiring a permanent address

prohibitive fines, fees or other penalties or the perception that services incur fees

staff who are not trained in service to people who are poor or homeless or who are made uncomfortable by prejudices against people who are poor or homeless

limited promotion at the community centers and organizations (food banks, shelters, after-school programs) which serve people experiencing poverty or homelessness

limited access to the library building by either limited means of transportation or service hours

lack of programs or resources that address peoples experience or current situations (ala.org; Outreach Resources for Services to Poor and Homeless Poor) Having worked in all of the neighborhood branches and now at Central

Library, the homeless seem to be a missing piece of the library community, with the

Library Kiosk for Homeless exception of Multnomah Countys Central Library downtown. This is perhaps because of its proximity to shelters and services, though the womens shelters for domestic violence victims are located on the other side of the Williamette River. Because their presence is not really felt in the branches, out in the community, I believe to better address the information needs of the homeless in Portland, especially the growing number of women and children, the library needs to first

meet them where they are in the community, on familiar ground, and working from there, insure they are welcomed not only in the community, but bring them into the library buildings as well. The service proposal that would work best as an easy, accessible introduction to library services would be to install a Redbox type of center near each of the neighborhood library branches. A Redbox is an automated kiosk specializing in dvd rentals. These could be converted to library kiosks and would of course be accessible twenty-four hours, seven days a week. This solves the issue of limited access because of hours and also addresses not having the library presence outside of the library building itself, but rather out in the community at a place frequented by the homeless. As many of the homeless are mobile during the day, some occupy themselves with collecting cans and bottles to earn extra cash. In Oregon, there is a 5% bottle deposit and many simply put these bottles and cans into their recycling bins, not bothering with the few cents at the bottle banks. Because these bottle depository banks are often times located near major grocery stores and sometimes even a nearby neighborhood branch library, these would serve as ideal locations in which to place the library kiosks. Since this project has many different elements

Library Kiosk for Homeless involved, the sourcing of the library kiosks, making contacts and building relationships within the community to provide goods, obtaining approval from the bottle stations to place the library kiosks, hiring or retraining staff delivery truck drivers to replenish the stock and reroute the delivery plans to include the additional kiosks, it will take some time to get the program established. Of course, the project would not be a success if it was not tested first of course, so a pilot library kiosk installed in prime location is key. I recommend installing the pilot library kiosk near the Belmont Library at the Fred Meyer on Hawthorne bottle deposit bank, as this is the busiest of neighborhood libraries and that particular bottle deposit bank is heavily trafficked. The library kiosk addresses that most important one of the many barriers

homeless face when using the librarylack of a stable address. Multnomah County does allow for this and will accept the addresses of shelters and issue library cards to homeless, but as mentioned previously, many live in cars and on the street and either are unaware of the shelter address policy or lack any form of valid identification. To resolve this long-standing issue, the ability to use the library kiosk would only require a name and a birthdate to be entered into the machine. Once it is, the account is then valid and active, with no long numbers or pins or passwords to remember. Ideally, the library would build relationships in the local community, especially with those who advocate for the homeless. The organization Street Roots, would be a great contributor and would help to stock the kiosks with their Street Roots booklets titled The Rose City Resource Guide. These are full of valuable

Library Kiosk for Homeless

resources to the homeless and include names, addresses, and telephone numbers of free clinics, how to obtain food and clothing boxes, where to take a hot shower, where to go and when for a free meal, and information on accessing free counseling and shelters. The library kiosks could contain a variety of items geared to help the homeless ease some of their daily battles. The resource guide, as mentioned previously, would be included, as would simple first aid kits, simple hygiene kits including soap, toothbrush and toothpaste, a small sewing kit, and in colder months a supply of socks, gloves and hats. Also in the kiosk would be books (of the donated and discarded library material variety), mainly popular fiction, true crime, and for those women with children in tow, a few childrens storybooks. Mainstream periodicals and newspapers would also be included. Street Roots would be approached, as would some of the local shelters, to discuss specific needs of the homeless in the area and how best to provide for them. Another barrier to library service to the homeless is the notion of fines. Since all material inside of the library kiosk will be comprised of donations from the library and community, no fines will be incurred with use of the kiosks. Items like books and magazines, can be returned if the patron wishes before taking another item, but this system will operate on a good faith basis, much like the bring em back or books to you program at Multnomah County Library. All other items contained in the kiosk will be resources addressing the experiences or current situation of the patron and are intended to be used and not returned.

Library Kiosk for Homeless

In addition to materials inside the kiosk, there would be a courtesy telephone on the library kiosk itself with a call limit of 15 minutes; this would be accessed with the same name/birthdate account number. The telephone would operate in much the same way as the booking of internet sessions work through PHAROS at the library. The time for each account number would be monitored and when the 15 minute limit was reached, that would be the end of telephone access for that day. The calls could be made to local numbers or collect for long distance. There would also be a separate line (the time spent on this line would not count towards the fifteen minute limit on the courtesy phone) that would put the patron in direct contact with a librarian. As twenty-four hour librarian help is available via the internet, it is foreseeable that larger contact centers including telephones and computers, serviced by library staff on a continuous basis, is possible. This librarian on hand could help further locate appropriate resources, perform readers advisory, and also take requests and document the requesting location. Moving a step beyond this basic service, librarians trained in counseling or social services could also be used to staff this contact center, and if not a trained librarian experienced in those skills, possibly community volunteers from the field could participate. In order to evaluate the library kiosk, a software monitoring system could allow for a count of items per card issued, and whether or not they are telephone patrons. Of course, re-stocking would be a key indicator, the rate at which certain items circulate (or are used), but a comment card near the library kiosk would also be useful. Also, possibly, the nearest branch library would see an increase of use.

Library Kiosk for Homeless Budget is another consideration. Though after the initial outlay for the kiosks themselves, money matters would be minimal, as the relationships formed with homeless advocates in the area would be contributing on a goods donation basis. The estimate for each machine may be anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000, taking into count the telephone lines and access as well as monitoring software. In conclusion, installing a library kiosk would address many barriers homeless patrons currently face using the library buildings themselves. It would

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bring the library out into the community, to them, be accessible twenty-four hours a day, no address would be required to use the service, and it would offer a resource not currently available with the phone lines and some of the stocked items. This scheme would be easy to use, accessible and a great introduction to library services. For those patrons who are more self-service inclined, it would suit their needs and for those currently intimidated by the library, it would be a gentle introduction and perhaps a new entry point to library use. It would take some time to get the pilot project off the ground and established, but once in place, it would be a useful alternative for the homeless population. A safe, non-judgmental and comfortable space meeting them where they are in the community that will bring the library into their lives and eventually bring them into the libraries.

Library Kiosk for Homeless Resources

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Berman, S., & Lu, R. (2005). Classism in the Stacks. Pasadena, Calif.: Art Center College of Design.

Litienthal, S. (2011). The Problem is Not the Homeless. Library Journal, June.

Murphy, J. (1999). When the Rights of the Many Outweigh the Rights of the Few: The Legitimate Versus the Homeless Patron in the Pubic Library.

National Council on Disability. (n.d.). National Council on Disability. Retrieved April 29, 2013, from http://ncd.gov

Outreach Resources for Services to Poor and Homeless People. (n.d.). American Library Association. Retrieved April 29, 2013, from http://ala.org Citizens Commission on Homelessness. Home Again. December 2004