JET writes “One From The Dallas News: Lure of a library cafe won’t override fears about homeless.
Whether it’s fair or not, justifiable fear or peanut-minded paranoia, a lot of people avoid Dallas’ big, downtown central library because it’s a day haven for the homeless. Panhandlers and Jesus-shouters and transients who haven’t had a bath in awhile make people nervous, and a $3.50 cup of coffee isn’t going to change their minds.
The City Council no doubt has its heart in the right place with its longing to attract the sort of people who flock to their neighborhood Starbucks. This week, it authorized the library staff to start taking bids for an on-site bistro-style coffee cafe where graduate students could sip espresso while leafing through back issues of Utne Reader , and self-actualizing housewives on a mother’s day out could order a Caesar salad and update their dream journals.“
Dallas main library
I love the main downtown library in Dallas. It’s beautiful – and the librarians and staff are great. I used to tell my 3rd year Med school daughter to go and study there as it isn’t far from her apt. She did – ONCE. It wasn’t the wading through the weird people at around the door. The front desk directed her to a couple of good quiet spots. She ended up upstairs in the geneology section with a bunch of nice grey haired ladies…and several homeless men who kept making suggestive comments and noises at her. She still ignored them and stayed until she said she just couldn’t take the stink coming from them. The smell permeated the area.
After an hour she left and hasn’t returned.
Like I said it’s a great library with a super director and many wonderful librarians. But a coffee shop won’t solve the problem…and I don’t know what will.
Library Cafe?
Weren’t we taught in library school that any kind of food in the library is a potential for infestation by insects and pests. Why do libraries resemble failing sports teams that try and lure people to their stadium’s. The fact that the library adminstration tolerates annoyances to their readers is the first problem. The library is a public service business and as such needs to make the public feel that they can get what they need and not be annoyed by unusual situations. How long would a store be in business if the same type of people were annoying customers. The library needs to be a safe and healthy environment for its readers. Adding a cafe is not even a bandaid solution. There needs to be increased focus and defintion of the readers and their needs. A long term solution to the drop of usuage is to improve and bolster those services people expect from the library. The library also needs to be “family safe” as well as an hospitable environment to do all kinds of research. People use the INTERNET at home because it is convenient and they believe that they can locate materials without any assistance. Maybe they can, but our training and experience make their work more effective, this is what we should be stressing. Once again many of our colleagues believe that any boundaries within library administration are repressive and infringe on rights. On the contrary, not making the library a place that encourages formal and informal education drives the serious researcher to the home computer. This is yet another issue that needs to be addressed by our profession. It is time to set aside political agenda concerns and take a serious look at issues that greatly impact on the future of libraries and even our profession.