“We’re helping the communities by providing opportunities to the homeless through engagement.”
Author: Lisa Gieskes
Rainbow Boxes Aims To Send LGBT-Focused Young Adult Books To Libraries and Shelters
“The fight to make LGBT identities more widely accepted continues, and books are a great medium with which to do that. Which is why a new project to send LGBT-focused young adult books to libraries and shelters is such a great idea. Not only can it show kids everywhere that LGBT people are just people like everyone else, but it also give LGBT teens a chance to see themselves represented in literature, and that’s something everyone deserves.
The project, called Rainbow Boxes, is currently fundraising on Indiegogo, and was started by YA authors Cori McCarthy and Amy Rose Capetta. The project aims to donate a box of 15 books with LGBTQIA characters to one community library and one homeless shelter in every state in the country (40 percent of homeless teens identify as LGBT). That’s a total of 1,500 books!”
Diversity and Outreach Fair, Book Drive to Highlight Library Services for People Experiencing Homelessness
CHICAGO – This year’s ALA Diversity and Outreach Fair, to be held from 3 – 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 27 in the Exhibits Special Events Area during the American Library Association’s Annual Conference highlights innovations in library services to people experiencing poverty and homelessness. Additionally, two task forces of the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) have joined forces with a wide array of member groups and the San Francisco Public Library to coordinate a book drive which benefits over five bay area community organizations. Book donations will be accepted from June 26-29 in specially-marked bins throughout the conference campus, at the DEMCO booth and at the Diversity & Outreach Fair.
Help us take immediate action to serve people that go without such basics as shelter, food, healthcare and literacy support in the midst of San Francisco’s striking prosperity by selecting a book from the list at www.ala.org/divfair and donating it to the book drive.
Conference attendees are encouraged to bring one new book from the list of recommended titles for donation to designated Bay Area organizations providing shelters, support and transitional housing for youth and families. The goal of the book drive is to collect a range of excellent titles that include books for diverse backgrounds and identities. The donations will be collected in coordination with the San Francisco Public Library to benefit local organizations including Compass Family Shelter, the Providence Foundation of San Francisco, the Berkeley Food and Housing Project, YEAH! (Youth Engagement, Advocacy, and Housing), Homeless Prenatal Program, Westside Community Services and Home Away from Homelessness.
For more information, and to view the list of suggested donation titles, please visit the Diversity & Outreach Fair page at www.ala.org/divfair .
ABOUT SRRT AND ITS TASK FORCES
The Social Responsibilities Round Table has worked effectively to make ALA more democratic and to establish progressive priorities not only for the association, but also for the entire profession. Concern for civil and economic rights was an important element in the founding of SRRT and remains an urgent concern today. SRRT believes that libraries and librarians must recognize and help solve social problems and inequities in order to carry out their mandate to work for the common good and bolster democracy.
The Hunger, Homelessness & Poverty Task Force is one of several issue-oriented task forces within SRRT of ALA. In 1990, ALA adopted Policy 61, Library Services for the Poor. This “Poor People’s Policy” was developed to ensure that libraries are accessible and useful to low-income citizens and to encourage a deeper understanding of poverty’s dimensions, its causes and ways it can be ended. In 1996, members of the SRRT formed the Hunger, Homelessness & Poverty Task Force to promote and implement Policy 61 and to raise awareness of poverty issues.
The charge of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Task Force is to support and advance the observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday as an American celebration, through collaborative relations with SRRT and the Office for Literacy and Outreach Services (OLOS), and in cooperation with the caucuses and all other ALA units for a broad spectrum of academic, public, school and special library participation. The task force develops, produces and disseminates materials through workshops, exhibits and other activities to increase public awareness of library resources and programs, to familiarize people of all ages with Dr. King’s work and teachings of peace, nonviolence and service to humanity.
California’s Homeless Find a Quiet Place
“Public libraries provide the homeless with a way to connect, and many homeless say that browsing the stacks and reading a book there eases a weary street-level perspective of life.”
New York City Putting Libraries In Homeless Shelters To Make Sure That Homeless Children Have Access To Books
“This project is part of a team effort by the city’s Education Department and its Department of Homeless Services, and will affect 20 shelters throughout the city. Each shelter will have its own library made up of donated books and other reading materials such as magazines.”
Library's Science, Technology Program Receives $400K Grant
The BiblioTec program started as a partnership with Coffee Oasis to bring science and technology classes to homeless and at-risk youth in 2013 and 2014.
Santa Rosa Library Offering Art Workshops to Homeless
“They [homeless people] just need a chance to come in and do something for a couple of hours that isn’t survival-based,” said Rebecca Forth, founder of a new program she calls “Seen and Heard.”
What are Libraries Doing to Help?
Courtney Young, President of the American Library Association, says that in times of economic hardship, more people turn to and depend on libraries and librarians for help.
How are the Kids?
“The biggest challenge in an era of increasing inequality in income and wealth is the widening gulf between children growing up in strong, economically secure families within thriving communities and children who are not. Although African-American and Latino children continue to fall disproportionately into the latter group, a greater share of children of all racial and ethnic groups are facing conditions that can impede their long-term success.” Kids Count Data Book 2014
A Home to the Homeless: Community Approach to Homelessness
“The American Library Association (ALA) maintains in its “Library Services to the Poor” policy statement that it’s crucial for public libraries to recognize their role in enabling poor people to participate fully in a democratic society. The library has to serve as a uniquely egalitarian place. Moreover, library staffers have a duty to look out for the needs of poor and homeless patrons and strive to provide relevant services.”