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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">The thing that keeps coming to my mind
is that there is always going to be loss at a library. People
(even with valid addresses) can never return items just as easily
as people without addresses. And it is really pretty easy to steal
items from libraries if someone really wants to keep something. <br>
<br>
I feel like if anyone (homeless or not) is willing to sign up for
a library card and have their borrowing tracked, that they will
honor the way the library works and be more concerned for
upholding their privileges than if they are denied privileges,
which may just lead them to taking things anyway and being less
inclined to return them because there is no record of them having
the items. This may be true even more for people like the homeless
who are often not given a chance. <br>
<br>
You just gotta trust people and life a little. <br>
-- <br>
Amanda Goeke<br>
Collection Development Specialist<br>
<a href="http://hoodriverlibrary.org">Hood River County Library
District</a> <br>
541.387.7065<br>
<br>
On 7/9/2012 5:00 PM, Abbie Anderson wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote cite="mid:b6d17d1ed56c49bf6e865654ad247a33@cclsd.org"
type="cite">Chiming in at much too much length...
<br>
<br>
On a practical level: One of the best options is to issue a
limited card to people who can't meet your residence standards, no
matter the reason. Limit the number of items they can check out
and possibly the types of items they can check out (say, 1 DVD or
music CD at a time); prevent them from placing holds, prevent them
from using your ILL service; make the card itself temporary, so
that you ask for address verification again within a set period of
time (maybe things will change for them!). When you have local
agencies that provide mailing addresses for people they shelter,
as they do in Multnomah and Eugene (hurray!), take advantage of
that. Then track your statistics, and evaluate the policy. Are
these limited cards causing you more losses than other cards? How
much? Is that acceptable for your budget? Answer those questions,
and keep offering the best access you can within your means.
<br>
<br>
On a philosophical level: Our mission is to provide access. But we
have fiscal responsibility not only to the taxpayers and donors
that fund us, but to our budgets. Some of us just can't afford the
costs of lost materials and of staff time dealing with fines that
may never be paid--and experience teaches us that those costs go
up when we are trying to serve people in precarious situations.
<br>
<br>
Another side of it is that people whose lives right now preclude
stable housing or income *also* can't afford library fines--and
they are more likely to incur those fines because they have less
control over items in their possession, their transportation,
their schedule, and their physical health and safety. We are
potentially making more trouble for them by issuing them library
cards and letting them take things home that may not come back, or
may not come back in time, or may come back damaged. It's just one
more dimension to the cruelty of poverty, homelessness, domestic
violence, developmental and mental health challenges, and
addictions.
<br>
<br>
And *another* side is that fines represent a significant revenue
stream for the library--revenue that is degraded by the amount of
staff time required to deal with fines, particularly those that
require pursuit. Fiscally, we don't want to accrue fines that
don't get paid or take a lot of effort to get paid: it's not just
lost revenue, it's extra costs from staff time.
<br>
<br>
Of course, library losses and fines also regularly occur with
people who verified their addresses when they established their
library accounts. People move; people lose their homes; people
refuse or are unable to pay a fine; people are bad at managing
library material and due-dates. This is another reason to analyze
your statistics, and understand the full picture.
<br>
<br>
In Coos County, we don't allow my "best option" above. We have a
policy that allows us to issue provisional library cards with
limited circulation for people who have permanent addresses
elsewhere, and also an address locally that accepts mail (like an
RV park; some of our libraries also sometimes accept "General
Delivery" as an address...). For people new to the area, or who
have just moved, who can't verify their local address, at North
Bend we give them a postcard and ask them to mail it to themselves
at the address they just gave us. They can then bring the postcard
back in as proof of deliverable address. We recently implemented a
temporary card for people who have PO Boxes, but no proof of local
street address.
<br>
<br>
We also have a controversial "Banned Addresses" list, at least for
the two largest libraries in North Bend and Coos Bay. These are
the local homeless shelters, temporary housing programs, and a
Women's Resource and Safety Center. The Women's Center has several
different housing locations, and rightly guards the actual
locations of women staying with them. They also do not accept mail
for the women in their programs. Our policy is to refuse library
cards to people at those addresses, and to block cards of people
who move to one of those addresses (and give us that address when
updating their accounts). I wish it weren't so, but my Business
Manager is very persuasive regarding how much time she has to
spend on fines and losses associated with those addresses.
<br>
<br>
Bob is right that anyone can use materials in the building (and
computers, depending on your policies). Many libraries also
provide a "browsing" or "honor" collection of inexpensive and/or
donated paperbacks and children's materials, as we do at North
Bend. Anyone can take those items home without checking them out
(we just ask them to tell us how many they took, for
record-keeping). However, it seems that people in the most
difficult circumstances seem to want primarily DVDs, and lots of
them at a time--which we just can't do.
<br>
<br>
In Coos County, I would like to reexamine our policy, and issue
very limited cards to people who can't verify any address: one
item at a time, no holds, no ILLs. That way we would control
potential losses, and a person in difficult circumstances would
limit their own potential damages while also learning how using
the library works for them.
<br>
<br>
One of my staff members told me that she sometimes wants to say to
people, after wrangling with them for the umpteenth time about how
the items didn't come back in time and how there are fines now
(and listening to their variable stories about how the items
really did come back or why they didn't come back in time or how
they really shouldn't have to pay this), "Maybe the library is
just not for you!" She has a point. Some people have a very hard
time managing their library materials--and these are the people
who *do* have verified addresses.
<br>
<br>
For what it's worth; your mileage may vary...
<br>
<br>
Abbie Anderson
<br>
Assistant Director
<br>
North Bend Public Library
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.northbendlibrary.org">www.northbendlibrary.org</a>
<br>
Coos County Library Service District
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.cooslibraries.org">www.cooslibraries.org</a>
<br>
541.756.1073
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
On 07/09/2012 02:54 pm, Bob Jones wrote:
<br>
<blockquote type="cite">Candise, I suspect your library's primary
mission is to serve the
<br>
faculty, staff, and students of your college, with limited, if
any,
<br>
service to the general public. That's as it should be, because
your
<br>
funding comes from your college.
<br>
<br>
Likewise, my library's primary mission is to serve those who
fund it,
<br>
the taxpayers of Milton-Freewater and the Umatilla County
Special
<br>
Library District. Through reciprocal borrowing agreements we
also
<br>
serve the patrons of other libraries in the Sage Library System.
If
<br>
someone from outside that network comes in, they are free to use
our
<br>
books and other materials in the library. If, however, they wish
to
<br>
carry our materials away from the library, they need a card,
just like
<br>
our local residents do. Because visitors are not paying taxes to
make
<br>
these materials available, our generous free service to them
stops at
<br>
the door. If they wish to borrow materials, there is an annual
fee for
<br>
getting a library card, and they must present ID from an
approved list
<br>
of acceptable items.
<br>
<br>
Why? Because it would not be fair to our taxpayers to provide
<br>
unlimited library services to those who pay no taxes to us.
Because my
<br>
boss, the City Manager, expects me to take reasonable steps to
ensure
<br>
that materials which leave the building will return to it.
<br>
<br>
If I go to the public library in Walla Walla or Boise or Dubuque
<br>
should I expect them to loan books to me? No. Why not? Because
they
<br>
have the same responsibilities to their taxpayers and their
local
<br>
government that I have to mine. If they allow me to use
materials
<br>
within their building, and do it at no charge, isn't that
sufficiently
<br>
generous? How much more should I expect from them?
<br>
<br>
I'm sure that when a member of your college community checks out
<br>
materials from your library, there is a penalty for failure to
return
<br>
them. If you failed to maintain control over your collection,
your
<br>
bosses would hold you responsible for the losses; if too many
items
<br>
were lost, you would be penalized or even fired.
<br>
<br>
Homeless people also fall into a category of people who are not
<br>
paying property taxes to support the library. In addition, they
fall
<br>
into a category of people who would be difficult or impossible
to
<br>
track down and hold responsible if they failed to return
materials.
<br>
Those are two good reasons to limit their use of library
materials to
<br>
within the confines of the library building. By doing so we are
not
<br>
denying them access to library materials; in fact we are
generously
<br>
allowing them use of a building and a collection they are not
<br>
supporting with property tax dollars. What we are doing is
exercising
<br>
prudent control over a million dollars worth of materials for
which we
<br>
are responsible by not allowing them to carry those materials
away.
<br>
<br>
I have compassion for homeless people, but I am not a social
worker
<br>
and the library is not a social service agency; I'm a librarian
and
<br>
the library is an educational institution. What I do for
homeless
<br>
people on my time is up to me, but what I do for them on the job
as a
<br>
city employee is limited by the ordinances and funding which
govern
<br>
the library.
<br>
<br>
-----Original Message-----
<br>
FROM: Candise Branum [<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="mailto:cbranum@ocom.edu">mailto:cbranum@ocom.edu</a>]
<br>
SENT: Monday, July 09, 2012 10:43 AM
<br>
TO: Bob Jones
<br>
CC: Kirsten Brodbeck-Kenney; <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:libs-or@listsmart.osl.state.or.us">libs-or@listsmart.osl.state.or.us</a>
<br>
SUBJECT: Re: [Libs-Or] Library cards for homeless/those without
<br>
permanent address
<br>
<br>
I have to respectfully disagree, Bob. I think our responsibility
is
<br>
to not just serve those who can pay for services, but to enrich
the
<br>
community at large. Especially in times of economic crisis, the
public
<br>
library is one of the few places where people should have access
to
<br>
the resources that will allow them to enrich themselves. I think
it is
<br>
great that you are exploring this issue, Kirsten. I don't have
any
<br>
suggestions for you, but I'd love to hear what you decide.
<br>
<br>
Candise Branum, MLS
<br>
College Librarian
<br>
Oregon College of Oriental Medicine
<br>
10525 SE Cherry Blossom Drive
<br>
Portland, OR 97216
<br>
503-253-3443 ext.134 | <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.library.ocom.edu">www.library.ocom.edu</a> [1]
<br>
<br>
On Mon, Jul 9, 2012 at 10:28 AM, Bob Jones wrote:
<br>
<br>
Kirsten:
<br>
<br>
This is an interesting question, because it's not simply "How do
we
<br>
serve everyone who wants service?".
<br>
<br>
Most public libraries are supported primarily through property
taxes.
<br>
Therefore their primary responsibilities are:
<br>
<br>
(1) Provide services to those who provide your funding, which
would
<br>
be property owners who pay taxes directly and renters who pay
taxes
<br>
indirectly through their property-owner landlords
<br>
<br>
(2) Safeguard a large investment in public property (books,
<br>
periodicals, videos, audio recordings, etc.) by having a way to
track
<br>
down and hold accountable borrowers who fail to return materials
<br>
<br>
For these reasons, most libraries require library card
applicants to
<br>
show proof of residence in the city, county, or district which
funds
<br>
the library. In addition, there often are severe limits on
first-time
<br>
borrowers, who account for a high percentage of losses.
<br>
<br>
Homeless people generally cannot provide documentation to verify
<br>
residency. Likewise, some people who have resided in your
service area
<br>
for years choose to not have any form of ID which you may
require,
<br>
such as a driver's license, DMV ID card, voter registration
card,
<br>
utility bill, etc. If you refuse to issue cards to one group,
how can
<br>
you justify serving the other (and this works in both
directions)?
<br>
<br>
If you want to have more lenient standards for homeless people
and/or
<br>
for people who choose to have no form of ID, how can you justify
<br>
stricter standards for other people? That would be
discriminatory. But
<br>
do you really want anyone who walks in the door to carry out
anything
<br>
they wish with no reasonable way to find them and hold them
<br>
responsible for failure to bring stuff back in a timely manner?
That
<br>
would be irresponsible.
<br>
<br>
I'd be interested in learning what you decide to do, and how you
<br>
justify it.
<br>
<br>
Bob Jones
<br>
<br>
Library Director
<br>
<br>
Milton-Freewater Public Library
<br>
<br>
-----Original Message-----
<br>
FROM: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:libs-or-bounces@listsmart.osl.state.or.us">libs-or-bounces@listsmart.osl.state.or.us</a> [3]
<br>
[<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="mailto:libs-or-bounces@listsmart.osl.state.or.us">mailto:libs-or-bounces@listsmart.osl.state.or.us</a> [4]] ON BEHALF
OF
<br>
Kirsten Brodbeck-Kenney
<br>
SENT: Sunday, July 08, 2012 3:43 PM
<br>
TO: <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:libs-or@listsmart.osl.state.or.us">libs-or@listsmart.osl.state.or.us</a> [5]
<br>
SUBJECT: [Libs-Or] Library cards for homeless/those without
<br>
permanent address
<br>
<br>
We're currently exploring ways to better serve our transient
<br>
population here in Lincoln City. In the past we have worked out
cards
<br>
for individuals staying at a nearby domestic violence shelter,
and we
<br>
allow anyone to make use of our computers, but I would like to
set up
<br>
something more permanent and wide-ranging that would allow
individuals
<br>
without a permanent address to better access library services.
<br>
<br>
We have some ideas here on staff, but I would be very interested
in
<br>
hearing how other libraries have tackled this. What kinds of
<br>
requirements do you have in order to obtain a card? Do cards for
those
<br>
without permanent address have the same borrowing privileges, or
<br>
modified privileges? Have you experienced a great deal of
material
<br>
loss, or no? I suspect I may have to work pretty hard to get
100%
<br>
buy-in from my board and from staff, so any information you've
got
<br>
would be great!
<br>
<br>
Kirsten Brodbeck-Kenney
<br>
Library Director
<br>
Driftwood Public Library
<br>
801 SW HWY 101, #201
<br>
Lincoln City, OR 97367
<br>
(541)996-1251 [6]
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:kbrodbeck-kenney@lincolncity.org">kbrodbeck-kenney@lincolncity.org</a> [7]
<br>
<br>
_____________________________________________________
<br>
Libs-Or mailing list
<br>
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<br>
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<br>
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<br>
[2] <a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="mailto:Bob.Jones@milton-freewater-or.gov">mailto:Bob.Jones@milton-freewater-or.gov</a>
<br>
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