Increasingly, libraries are offering programs specifically targeted to the homeless that provide opportunities to talk with library staff, social workers, job counselors, and other social service specialists. Customers who spend the better part of each day with us include a growing number of the homeless, those experiencing mental illness and or substance abuse issues, or those who need help following a variety of personal or family traumas. Many arrive at opening time and spend most of the day reading, using the computers or the WiFi, or simply enjoying a safe place away from the elements.

The Fox article goes on to report findings from the Healthy Library Initiative published in the journal “Health Affairs,” wherein librarians said that they found themselves acting as social workers but did not have the training required for this role. “Daily, we find ourselves helping to refer customers to shelters, mental health services, and even sometimes stepping in to help those “immediately at risk for drug overdose.”

Many public library systems are taking steps to help librarians address gaps in knowledge about providing health information and other services for our customers most at risk. Libraries are hiring nurses and social workers. Resource lists are at the ready for staff. Libraries such as  Denver Public Library make resources lists available online via their Community Assistance Resources  page. Increasingly, training classes and resources are offered to library staff and security support personnel to help de-escalate issues, make connections, and better serve customers in need.

How is your library responding to this need? Share your tips and resources in the comments.

Resources

“Libraries can be a health lifeline for people most at risk.” November 11, 2016. Fox News Health Blog.

Healthy Library Initiative 

The post Libraries Are A Lifeline first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Libraries are different now than they were then. More than just books and a reference section filled with microfiche, magazines, and newspapers for research, they are community centers. Most offer Internet access and computers. Many offer makerspaces and other educational programs. Ideally, everyone would have access to a library close to home.

It’s happening in Chicago. Thanks to a partnership between the Chicago Public Library and the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA), mixed income housing developments will house small libraries. “This is leadership and creativity at its best,” said Molly Sullivan, senior director of communications and media relations for the CHA. “We follow the lead of Mayor Emanuel on this. We will join a few other cities like Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Brooklyn [and] New York in [building] actual libraries that are co-located in publicly supported housing.”[1]

It’s a good financial decision, as building the libraries will be more affordable and they will be more accessible to patrons. The libraries will not just be mini-libraries filled with books either. They will all sponsor programs in their respective neighborhoods.

Social Workers

As part of the community outreach, social workers who specialize in providing social services for parents and children will conduct parental training and other workshops at the libraries. These workshops are designed to help patrons deal with everyday stresses associated with balancing work, children, and other family obligations. At the same time, libraries face other challenges. The same things that make them great leave them vulnerable, and keeping them safe and drug free can be a challenge. In this effort, social workers are often like first responders, helping detect issues and direct patrons to where they can get help.

Early Childhood Active Learning Spaces

Children will have access to great resources like makerspaces, technology, and the Teacher in the Library program. Undergraduate education students will assist children with their homework during after school hours. This not only provides children with more resources, but also develops a pipeline for “teachers in training” to gain hands-on teaching experiences. Libraries will work with local university teacher certification programs, as well as other programs which require students to acquire a certain number of  service learning hours. University of Illinois at Chicago was the first institution to participate in the program.

Teen and Adult Technology Support

The library will of course offer technology and teacher support to teens as well. Adult programs will also be offered including everything from financial counseling and job search support to writing resources, guides, and classes. Neighborhood artists and authors will be encouraged to showcase their work through events and workshops. Programs will on environmental responsibility also are planned.

Not only are these kinds of libraries good for the neighborhoods where they are located, but they are serving as a model for other library districts all over the country. The days of large central libraries may never be gone entirely, but small satellite branches in the neighborhoods where patrons live certainly seems like an affordable solution to making libraries readily accessible.

References

1. The Columbia Chronicle, “Mixed Income Housing To Be Co-located With Libraries.”

The post Bringing the Library Home: Mixed Income Housing and Libraries first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Passport Processing and Photo Services
Every Cuyahoga County Public Library branch  is an official Passport Acceptance Facility for the U.S. Department of State. The library offers passport processing and photo services every day of the week from opening until one hour before opening, and no appointment is necessary. The passport application process usually takes from 20-60 minutes per applicant. Routine application processing takes 4-6 weeks. The library can also provide expedited service for an additional fee, which reduces the processing time to as little as 2-4 weeks. All details about how to apply for a passport are available on the library web site, at the circulation desk, and by calling a CCPL branch. The service is very popular, and there are many people coming to the library to apply for a passport. They come to the library because it is convenient to come to the local branch instead of driving downtown where most of the official facilities are. Library staff is very helpful, and all passport forms are available.

Recording Studios
Two of the Cuyahoga County Library branches feature recording studios. Warrensville Heights Branch has an audio recording studio while the Garfield Heights Branch has an audio and a video recording studio. Customers can make their own videos or cut their own CDs. Both are free and open to the public. The Garfield Heights branch features more opportunities to use their recording studios through their Broadcasting Club and Video Production Camp. The Broadcasting Club helps students take advantage of the new audio and video recording studios. Kids ages 8-12 learn broadcasting basics and share ideas for group projects and activities. Video Production Camp allows students to produce their own digital video program. Children ages 11-18 learn all the phases of the video production process. Attendees form production teams and storyboard, script, shoot, and direct a video while using professional video, lighting, and audio equipment.

Cuyahoga Works: Cuyahoga County Public Library Job & Career Services
The Job & Career Services at Cuyahoga County Public Library is a nationally recognized Adult Career Planning Resource Center. Cuyahoga County Public Library has been serving the community with job and career services assistance since 1976. Cuyahoga Works: Job & Career Services offers extensive job and career services to the customers. Services include individual appointments, workshops, and a Job Seekers Series dedicated to the education and training of current job search skills and techniques. Library Career Counselors offer free job search advice. Cuyahoga Works: Jobs & Career Services are located in Maple Heights Branch and Fairview Park Branch. One-on-one counseling sessions with  a certified career counselor are available at no charge in the Library Career Centers at the Maple Heights, Fairview Park, Solon Branch, and the North Royalton Branch libraries. Also, Cuyahoga Works offers free classes and workshops at branches throughout the Cuyahoga County Public Library system and one-on-one counseling sessions with certified career counselors.

These are just a few examples of the library services that provide help in new ways to extend typical library services to the communities. What unique service is your library providing?

The post Libraries Branching Out first appeared on Public Libraries Online.

Enter Leah Esguerra, the nation’s first full-time library Psychiatric Social Worker. Esguerra was hired in 2009 to do outreach to patrons in need of social services. Esquerra thinks that one of the recompenses of her time at the library is that she has become a recognizable face to the patrons and is therefore more approachable. She has noticed that she is even recognized on the streets as “that library lady.” Her job often is comprised of providing information to people about where they can access services like free meals, temporary shelters, and legal aid.  She does however sometimes encounter an individual who meets identifiable criteria, including being recurrently homeless, with a physical or medical condition, at which point her roles and services change. “I do the full clinical assessment. And then I make a presentation to my colleagues at the San Francisco homeless outreach team. They provide case management and also housing. In fact, since the program began, about 150 formerly homeless library patrons have received permanent housing and another 800 have benefited from other social services.”[1]

The Naysayers
Some are not happy with this service though. Often the San Francisco Public Library will get patrons who complain about these homeless patrons. One patron recently wrote a review on the main library’s Yelp page:”Can you please, please, please kick the homeless people out? They are disruptive in the stacks, leave their garbage, stink, body fluids at the desks. They use their bathrooms as their shower facilities.”[2]. Luis Herrera, San Francisco Public Library’s City Librarian, said that “urban libraries are one of the most democratic intuitions that we can have, and we welcome everybody; 99 percent of the individuals come in here, use the library respectfully, for its intended purpose, but we’re always going to have that small percentage that has some problems or some issues.”[3]  It would therefore be safe to say that the San Francisco Public Library is committed to this local revolution of how a library can inspire and help all of its community.

References
1. Library social worker helps homeless seeking quiet refuge. News Hour, San Francisco: PBS, 2015. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/library-social-worker-helps-homeless-seeking-quiet-refuge/

2. Ibid.

3 Ibid.

The post Social Workers and Librarians Working Together first appeared on Public Libraries Online.