Libraries and Homelessness: An Action Guide

by Julie Ann Winkelstein

Overview

Advocating a strategic approach, this book shows how to form a plan, secure funding and support, and create effective programs for adults, children, and youth who are experiencing homelessness. You'll find guidance for creating partnerships, training staff, and advocating.

Taking a holistic approach that will help you to better understand the experience of homelessness within the context of your library community, this book offers new strategies and tools for addressing the challenge of meeting the needs of the entire community, including those who are unstably housed. With basic facts, statistics, and conversations about homelessness, the author makes a case for why libraries should provide support, explains exactly which needs they may be able (or unable) to meet, and shows how this support can be a natural part of the library services you already provide.

Topics discussed include trauma-informed care, harm reduction, and mental and physical health challenges; brief stories and concrete examples illustrate the principles and guidelines discussed. Citing innovative services such as Dallas Public Library's "coffee and conversation" program and San Francisco Public Library's social worker program, the book offers both food for thought and tools for action as public librarians strive to understand and meet the needs of a population that has traditionally been stereotyped and excluded.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781440862786
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	07/06/2021
Pages:	282
Sales rank:	914,076
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.59(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Julie Ann Winkelstein, PhD, MLIS, is an activist, writer, and teacher who worked as a public librarian for 20 years. She teaches a library school course on homelessness, poverty, and libraries at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction xi

1 About the Experience of Homelessness 1

2 The Library's Role: Then and Now 43

3 Needs of Community Members Experiencing Homelessness 57

4 Creating an Action Plan 89

5 Partnerships, Funding, and Staff Training 117

6 Traditional and New Programs and Services 131

Conchision 185

Appendix A Glossary and Related Terms 187

Appendix B Action Planning Tool 210

Appendix C Library Staff Survey 211

Appendix D Creating a Dream Plan to Address Community Homelessness 214

Appendix E Planning a Fair 216

Appendix F Tips for Community Service Providers/Social Workers 218

Appendix G Recommended Resources 223

Appendix H Emergency Resource Guide (Central Arkansas Library System) 233

Appendix I Library Self-Assessment Checklist 235

Appendix J Lavamae^× COVID-19 Prevention Kits 239

Appendix K American Library Association Policy B.8.10 and Policy B.8.10.1 (Old 61 and 61.1) 240

Appendix L Responses from Social Workers 243

Appendix M Guidelines for Selecting Books for Young People 248

Appendix N Example of Library Social Worker Proposal 250

Index 255

What People are Saying About This

Booklist

"It behooves all librarians to become mindful of this social issue and provide appropriate resources and services."

Miguel Figueroa

"Winkelstein's advice for policies, actions, programs, and services is rooted in practical research, including stories from real library users, policies from libraries that have undergone change and transformation, and inspiring programs and services from a range of library types and sizes. Throughout this action guide, her approach centers our humanity, considering both the needs of those experiencing homelessness and the realities of library workers."

Vikki C. Terrile

"Julie Winkelstein has written a deeply relevant and useful guide for library workers at all levels who want to support members of their communities who are unstably housed. The detailed and comprehensive glossary alone is a gold mine of a resource that will help demystify service jargon. By combining robust and compassionate explanations of the contexts for homelessness in the United States, practical and useable templates, and step-by-step guides to action, Winkelstein’s book will help libraries begin or expand important and needed work that is often overwhelming to consider."

Bharat Mehra

"Winkelstein’s excellent book is a much-needed practical resource for the contemporary age to help libraries address challenges of homelessness in their diverse communities. The extensive and exciting coverage includes action-oriented strategies and planning tools that libraries can easily implement to become more inclusive and responsive to the needs of community members experiencing homelessness. The step-by-step easy-to-follow action guide operationalizes social justice head-on for libraries to extend themselves in support of a culturally misunderstood and stigmatized population."

Editorial Reviews

Essential for every library's staff collection. An excellent resource not only for libraries but also for government, social service organizations, schools, and religious congregations.” —Library Jourbanal

From the Publisher

★ 10/01/2021

The two most powerful ways that libraries can address homelessness, writes former public librarian Winkelstein, are by partnering with other organizations and hearing directly from those who are most impacted. The information in this book is valuable: statistics, a history of how libraries have handled homelessness, and current trends. Finkelstein includes stories from library users and nonusers and examples of actions that libraries can take, both short-term (holding voter registration at the library) and long-term (sending bookmobiles to homeless shelters). The section on creating an action plan includes listing the library's assets, writing a vision statement, considering potential barriers, and addressing resistance. The focus on youth and LGTBGQ+ users is particularly strong. Appendixes include an extensive glossary, a library staff survey, an example of a grant proposal, responses from social workers, and much more. VERDICT Essential for every library's staff collection. An excellent resource not only for libraries but also for government, social service organizations, schools, and religious congregations.—Susan Belsky, Oshkosh P.L., WI

Library Journal