A suburban IL library district is preparing to adopt new policies on patrons who smell bad or sleep.
Officials with the Schaumburg Township District library system tell the Daily Herald the policy proposals are not specifically targeted at the homeless who use the libraries from time to time to sleep during the day.
As with most issues in public libraries there is an answer
You have a rules of the library. Now just stick to those rules.
MOST issues can be covered by that list, it’s just that never happens, stick to one rule stick to them all and you solve the issues of noisy people, homeless people, smelly people, children left on their own, people damaging stock etc etc.
Enforce the rules that already exist! Why is that such a hard concept to accept?
not that simple
If you have “be clean, be awake rules” they’re only going to apply to the homeless. Do you get a lot of yuppie families who stink of Popov and stare at people? Old women sleeping in the crafts section?
I don’t think it’s honest to say these are rules for everyone. Technically a rule about no roller blades is for everyone but if I don’t rollerblade then it really isn’t for everyone.
I know that for appearances and legalities it must apply to all. And I would be disgusted by a staffer who treated the homeless, sleeping or unwashed with disrespect. But, c’mon, it’s a rule for the homeless, drunks, addicts or combinations thereof.
Be clean, be awake, does the later apply to the staff too? 😉
When I worked in public libraries we had drunk and smelly members of the public who weren’t homeless so rules can cater for more than just the homeless even if they seem (or indeed are) aimed against one group.
Although to be fair, why should one group in society cause problems for the majority in a place like a Library? Whatever the rights and wrong it is not the Libraries responsibility to sort out the problems, only to enforce the rules. If you don’t want smelly people and those people are homeless thats a social services/housing issue, not a Library issue. They accept the rules when they walk in (although I don’t think many libraries here in the UK bother to put up a list of rules like they used to)
No rollerblading? Change that to no wheeled conveyances and you’d take in heelies, skateboards, stop people riding on the book carts as well which is much fairer, and also more flexible for the future.
But, What About…..
So what do you do with a 10 year old boy who is in need of a serious scrubbing? Eeeeek! It really was awful!
>^..^<
Well
if you follow the rules properly you’d not allow him in.
I guess it would also depend on if they came in on their own or with a family member. Word to the mother/father for instance.
If they are filthy and smelly because of lack of care would you treat it different than if they’d been out playing football and stink of sweat or been treading in dog mess out on the street?
Really all of those examples should be answered by not allowing them in atall, and if the rules were enforced you’d also have the management backup for the course of action you take. This would be exactly the same as banning the woman who bathes in her perfume.
I know what you mean though, sometimes you get people that actually stain things they sit on/lean against!