The city of Los Angeles will soon declare a state of emergency because of its growing homeless population, the Los Angeles Times reported yesterday. The number of homeless Angelenos continues to grow even as the city has invested more money in its Housing Authority. There are now 26,000 homeless people in L.A. One public service that's feeling the heat: libraries.
Librarians have long acknowledged that their places of employment act as de facto daytime homeless shelters in many cities. Libraries are, after all, public places where folks can get free access to the Internet, read, entertain themselves, learn how to get services like housing vouchers, and simply stay warm. Employees in city libraries estimate they get 680 to 780 homeless patrons a day, according to the Times. Employees also report an increase in complaints from housed patrons. A quick look at the Los Angeles Public Library's Yelp reviews reveals the nature of those complaints. "There is a certain number of homeless and transient people lurking within," one reviewer writes. "However, that issue seemed to be controlled well by library security personnel."
[For more of this story, written by Francie Diep, go to http://www.psmag.com/politics-...less-library-patrons]
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