Local
Libraries get tough: No luggage, no sleeping, no fighting
By: Michael Neibauer
Examiner Staff Writer
December 26, 2008
The D.C. Public Library has unleashed a slate of new customer conduct policies that officials hope will transform the system into a more welcoming destination, at the potential expense of homeless residents who use branches as daytime shelters.
The X-ray machine at the front door of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library: out. Beverages in the Great Hall: in. Oversized bags often toted by homeless people through the front door: out.
“Our visitor numbers have been declining,” said Pamela Stovall, associate director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. “We’re looking at the overall strategy in terms of making our library more welcoming to customers.”
The X-ray machine at MLK’s entrance can be “disconcerting and intimidating” to visitors, Stovall said. Such a heavy security presence cannot be found in libraries in New York City, Baltimore or Boston, Stovall said, and it will be removed.
Allowing three oversized bags at MLK and all library branches also has been problematic for staff and visitors, Stovall said. The bags block aisles, are difficult to store and sometimes are used to steal materials. Reducing the number of permitted bags to two — the largest being of carry-on size — would eliminate those issues, but it may be an obstacle to the library’s many homeless users.
“It could be a barrier for some homeless person, we do understand that,” Stovall said. “We do understand we are the de facto day shelter for the homeless. We do want to provide a welcoming and safe environment for that population also. But we’re trying to do this balance, which is not easy to do, to serve everyone.”
Mary Ann Luby, outreach specialist with the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, said the bag limit will hit the homeless hardest. The footlockers provided at overnight shelters barely have room for a large pair of pants, she said. People have no place to keep their stuff, Luby said, and they have no place to go during the day other than the library.
“If we had a downtown center, would that lessen the need for the library as a haven for people?” Luby asked. “I think it would. I don’t want harsh things put on people. Their lives are harsh enough.”
Among the other changes, which will be adopted within 30 days:
» There will be beverages allowed in the Great Hall, but don’t expect an on-premises Starbucks, yet. “We’re discussing the possibilities,” Stovall said. “A cafe of some sort is definitely a possibility.”
» Where the old rules barred “loud conversation and laughter,” the revised guidelines target “excessive noise, including loud conversation and music.” It’s OK to laugh, Stovall said. But loud talking should be taken to the hall.
» The ban on sleeping or placing a head on the desk for 15 minutes or more will be replaced with a simpler prohibition: No sleeping, lying or placing head on tables or on the floors. The 15-minute rule was “unenforceable,” Stovall said.
The X-ray machine at the front door of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library: out. Beverages in the Great Hall: in. Oversized bags often toted by homeless people through the front door: out.
“Our visitor numbers have been declining,” said Pamela Stovall, associate director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library. “We’re looking at the overall strategy in terms of making our library more welcoming to customers.”
The X-ray machine at MLK’s entrance can be “disconcerting and intimidating” to visitors, Stovall said. Such a heavy security presence cannot be found in libraries in New York City, Baltimore or Boston, Stovall said, and it will be removed.
Allowing three oversized bags at MLK and all library branches also has been problematic for staff and visitors, Stovall said. The bags block aisles, are difficult to store and sometimes are used to steal materials. Reducing the number of permitted bags to two — the largest being of carry-on size — would eliminate those issues, but it may be an obstacle to the library’s many homeless users.
“It could be a barrier for some homeless person, we do understand that,” Stovall said. “We do understand we are the de facto day shelter for the homeless. We do want to provide a welcoming and safe environment for that population also. But we’re trying to do this balance, which is not easy to do, to serve everyone.”
Mary Ann Luby, outreach specialist with the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, said the bag limit will hit the homeless hardest. The footlockers provided at overnight shelters barely have room for a large pair of pants, she said. People have no place to keep their stuff, Luby said, and they have no place to go during the day other than the library.
“If we had a downtown center, would that lessen the need for the library as a haven for people?” Luby asked. “I think it would. I don’t want harsh things put on people. Their lives are harsh enough.”
Among the other changes, which will be adopted within 30 days:
» There will be beverages allowed in the Great Hall, but don’t expect an on-premises Starbucks, yet. “We’re discussing the possibilities,” Stovall said. “A cafe of some sort is definitely a possibility.”
» Where the old rules barred “loud conversation and laughter,” the revised guidelines target “excessive noise, including loud conversation and music.” It’s OK to laugh, Stovall said. But loud talking should be taken to the hall.
» The ban on sleeping or placing a head on the desk for 15 minutes or more will be replaced with a simpler prohibition: No sleeping, lying or placing head on tables or on the floors. The 15-minute rule was “unenforceable,” Stovall said.
