Librarian's Corner VII
by wrackingmybrains
As anyone who has ever visited a public library will know, one of the most ubiquitous and faithful demographics among library-users is the homeless. In fact, it is a sad irony that they are also the only group automatically excluded from membership, as to join one must provide proof of permanent address.
The more cynical among you may assume that homeless people come to libraries only to use the washrooms and sleep behind newspapers in a warm and peaceful atmosphere.* I will admit that a certain amount of this does go on and I don’t object at all: I am pleased if the tramps want to reduce their smelliness and I find the ‘no sleeping’ notices in some libraries cruel and unusual – I would much rather visitors slept quietly than, say, talked loudly on mobile phones.
Actually, though, many homeless people make better use of the wide range of services and facilities we offer than most other Readers. Here are a few examples of our homeless patrons and their activities:
Mr White
An elderly-ish, well-spoken South African. He knows all the staff’s names and always enquires politely about our lives and families. He spends as much time as he can on the Internet, usually researching obscure diseases on NHS Direct.
Tom
Young and Scottish. Also very polite in a shy, hesitant way. Watches a lot of rugby online and reads the newspapers from cover to cover.
Mr Jones
Middle-aged and scruffy with a rather aggressive manner and a tendency to mutter to himself. Obsessed with King George I, about whom he has compiled a large folder of information, composed of print-outs from the Internet and pages photocopied from history books. Sometimes he is content simply to regale staff with trivia about the aforementioned monarch’s life or show us his photocopied pictures (“Just look at that ‘at ‘e’s wearing there; isn’t that the coolest ‘at you’ve ever seen? ‘E was the coolest king ever!”); sometimes he enlists our help in unearthing ever-more detailed information.
Mrs McCrae
Not actually homeless but strange, unwashed and with much-lamented housing problems. Recently came in brandishing a leaflet about a hostel for single, elderly women which she had found amongst the wealth of such literature in our foyer. She was deeply aggrieved that the organisation supplied no telephone number, so I foolishly offered to email them for her. She now plagues my colleagues and me on an almost daily basis with demands for further information about the hostel (which, I might add, is absolutely nothing to do with the Library Service or Council) and accusations that we are deliberately withholding it from her.
*That all libraries fit this description is itself a myth: mine, situated in a draughty Victorian building, is usually freezing and often full of screaming children from the primary school round the corner.
As anyone who has ever visited a public library will know, one of the most ubiquitous and faithful demographics among library-users is the homeless. In fact, it is a sad irony that they are also the only group automatically excluded from membership, as to join one must provide proof of permanent address.
The more cynical among you may assume that homeless people come to libraries only to use the washrooms and sleep behind newspapers in a warm and peaceful atmosphere.* I will admit that a certain amount of this does go on and I don’t object at all: I am pleased if the tramps want to reduce their smelliness and I find the ‘no sleeping’ notices in some libraries cruel and unusual – I would much rather visitors slept quietly than, say, talked loudly on mobile phones.
Actually, though, many homeless people make better use of the wide range of services and facilities we offer than most other Readers. Here are a few examples of our homeless patrons and their activities:
Mr White
An elderly-ish, well-spoken South African. He knows all the staff’s names and always enquires politely about our lives and families. He spends as much time as he can on the Internet, usually researching obscure diseases on NHS Direct.
Tom
Young and Scottish. Also very polite in a shy, hesitant way. Watches a lot of rugby online and reads the newspapers from cover to cover.
Mr Jones
Middle-aged and scruffy with a rather aggressive manner and a tendency to mutter to himself. Obsessed with King George I, about whom he has compiled a large folder of information, composed of print-outs from the Internet and pages photocopied from history books. Sometimes he is content simply to regale staff with trivia about the aforementioned monarch’s life or show us his photocopied pictures (“Just look at that ‘at ‘e’s wearing there; isn’t that the coolest ‘at you’ve ever seen? ‘E was the coolest king ever!”); sometimes he enlists our help in unearthing ever-more detailed information.
Mrs McCrae
Not actually homeless but strange, unwashed and with much-lamented housing problems. Recently came in brandishing a leaflet about a hostel for single, elderly women which she had found amongst the wealth of such literature in our foyer. She was deeply aggrieved that the organisation supplied no telephone number, so I foolishly offered to email them for her. She now plagues my colleagues and me on an almost daily basis with demands for further information about the hostel (which, I might add, is absolutely nothing to do with the Library Service or Council) and accusations that we are deliberately withholding it from her.
*That all libraries fit this description is itself a myth: mine, situated in a draughty Victorian building, is usually freezing and often full of screaming children from the primary school round the corner.
posted by bitingmylip at 1:55 AM
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