Bums are Ground Zero in Libraries - Librarianship is a Hazardous Occupation

Sleeping in Public Library

Bums in the library?

Please read "Dear Monday - Any Advice for Furious," by Will Manley, Will Unwound #367, 21 February 2011.  Sample quote from a pseudonymous librarian named "Furious":

My problem is bums in the library.  Not just garden-variety bums that read the newspaper, doze in chairs and sneak a nip in the stacks–I’m familiar and comfortable with those bums since they do leave.  The bums I am taking exception to are addicted bums that are being fostered, fed and given money by our IT manager.

Wow!  Some IT manager!  Be sure to read the comments, most being from active or formers librarians.

The graphic above is from another worthy read: "Why You Should Work in a Library Before Library School," by YoSafBridg, Tales of a Rampaging Librarian, 1 June 2007.  It has lovely quotes from another source describing the Salt Lake City Public Library,  including:

Serious respiratory problems among the chronically homeless in a shelter are as common as beer guts at a racetrack.  If an epidemic strikes, the susceptibility of the homeless will translate into an increased risk of exposure for the rest of us and, eerily enough, our public libraries could become Ground Zeroes for the spread of killer flu.  Librarians are reluctant to make plans for handling such scenarios because we do not want to convey the message that America's libraries are anything but the safe and welcoming environments they remain today.

Libraries not safe?

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