Author: Lisa Gieskes

Whitney Malkin sees similarities between the homeless, working poor, and college students…. Here are excerpts from her article:

“Right now, with things the way they are, a lot of students just can’t afford to eat,” said Terry Capleton, who started a Facebook group called “I Ain’t Afraid to be on Food Stamps” when he was a student at Benedict College in South Carolina….

Deirdre Wilson, a junior at Francis Marion University in Florence, S.C., applied for food stamps in November because her paycheck from a work-study job didn’t stretch far enough to cover her expanding grocery bill.

The HHPTF, in partnership with the OLOS Subcommittee on Library Services to Poor and Homeless People, reported the findings from the ALA Task Force Member Survey on Policy 61.

Here is the full report:

Summary of the ALA Task Force Survey on ALA Policy 61 Library Services for the Poor.pdf

Attendees were asked for their input as well. Your comments and suggestions are welcome and will be compiled in a final report during the 2009 ALA Midwinter Meeting. Please send us your comments and suggestions.

If you are a library actively serving the poor please share your information and resources on the Library Success Wiki page.

Join us on Saturday, June 28, 1:30-3:30 pm, at the ALA Anaheim 2008 Annual Conference in the Disneyland Hotel Dreams D room for our Building Communities Through Libraries free panel discussion.

Find out how special and academic librarians are providing information outreach services that address community needs such as healthcare, literacy and education. Special and academic librarians will talk about successful partnerships that have led to lessening the knowledge gap and reducing information impoverishment.

Speakers: John Buschman, Associate University Librarian, Georgetown University Library; Dorothy Warner, Professor-Librarian, Rider University; Nancy McKeehan, Assistant Director of Libraries for Systems, Medical University of South Carolina
Library; Eileen Abels, Master’s Program Director and Associate Professor, College of Information Science & Technology at Drexel University; Denise E. Agosto, Associate Professor, College of Information Science & Technology at Drexel University

Chair: Lisa Gieskes, Coordinator, HHPTF

Library user advocates successfully challenged San Francisco’s Public Library Link+ automated interlibrary loan system’s large fee for lost books.

SFPL patrons can now negotiate lost book replacement fees.

As more and more people fall victim to the sub-prime mortgage mess more and more people are finding themselves without a home, living in tent cities.

Springtime is one of the neediest months for families of the working poor in Minnesota (and elsewhere).

What do these families need? More food at food pantries (80% of the contributions to Minnesota’s food shelves come from individuals). Food pantries keep food that often needs to be cooked, which what working poor families can use. Those people who are homeless are often directed to homeless shelters, not food pantries.

To find a food shelf or make a contribution to one in Minnesota call 651-721-8687 ext. 331 or go to Minnesota Food Share’s website.

The University of South Carolina School of Medicine will receive a $1.2 million grant from the City of Columbia in order to implement Housing First, a program that will place 25 homeless people into apartments and homes in the city of Columbia beginning in April.

Columbia is the first Housing First program to have a medical school coordinate services for the clients.

To find out more about the project, contact David Parker, director of Supportive Housing Services at the university’s medical school rdavidp@gw.mp.sc.edu.

Emilio Estevez will explore the issue of homeless people and public libraries in his next movie, The Public.

The story is based on librarian Chip Ward’s Los Angeles Times op-ed piece that discussed how libraries become de facto shelters for homeless and mentally ill people in times of budget cuts.

According to the article, Libraries balance patrons, homeless, Metro Detroit libraries have tightened security and hygiene policies in order to serve patrons. The libraries serve homeless people by making data available on shelters, mental health services and job-training programs.

Washington, DC’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library offers music appreciation and arts classes for homeless patrons

Jacksonville Public Library teaches Internet use to homeless job seekers

San Franciso Public Library staff refer homeless people to housing and mental health service agencies

The Free Library of Philadelphia employs homeless people at their Central Library

The Los Angeles Public Library hosts a summer camp for homeless children

New York Public Library has monthly story time sessions for homeless children