[Libs-Or] Problems for Corvallis-Benton County Library With youth at entrance--coming soon to a library near you?

[Rawles-Heiser, Carolyn]

For heaven's sake, everyone, these young people are standing on the
public sidewalk for the most part.   Neither the library nor the police
have the authority to eject people from the public right of way.
Loitering is not illegal.  It is also, to the best of my knowledge, not
illegal for them to use swear words as people pass by them.   It is
unpleasant for those passing by, but the library is not responsible for
the behavior of aliented people who do not know how to behave in a
civilized society and who want attention.   The police are here on a
regular basis--we have enhanced patrol, but in the United States you
normally cannot arrest people just for hanging out, even if you are
acting rudely.

The library is not providing adult daycare to anyone.   We have worked
with other agencies that serve this population to help alleviate the
problem so that other users are not made uncomfortable by them.  Not to
coddle them or provide them with handouts.   For example  we call
Juvenile Probation because they have leverage with many of these teens.
They can do more to keep them away or make them behave better than the
police can.  We are not providing them with any kind of social services.
We regularly have staff enforcing our rules on our property, ban people
who break the rules, and we have completely banned smoking from within
50 feet of our building.    The library provides library services to
those who come in and avail themselves of our services, as long as they
abide by the provisions of our Code of Conduct.  I am guessing that the
majority of public libraries allow anyone to come in to the library as
long as they are following whatever behavior codes the library has in
force--at least I hope everyone is.  

This whole situation has been extremely stressful for our library staff
and users for the past couple of years.  Fortunately the majority of
people in Corvallis, while bothered by the antisocial behavior, do not
blame the library for causing this.  Too bad some of our colleagues, who
should certainly understand the situation better than a person with no
background on running a building that is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, are blaming
the library for this situation.  You have really hit a raw nerve with me
on this.   The library did nothing to create or cause this problem and I
really resent the implication that we have.
Carolyn

Carolyn Rawles-Heiser
Library Director
Corvallis--Benton County Public Library
645 NW Monroe Ave.
Corvallis, OR  97330

(541)766-6910


-----Original Message-----
From: libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
[mailto:libs-or-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us] On Behalf Of Bob
Jones
Sent: Tuesday, June 07, 2011 2:41 PM
To: 'Hope Leman'; libs-or at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
Subject: Re: [Libs-Or] Problems for Corvallis-Benton County Library With
youth at entrance--coming soon to a library near you?

I have read the original posting, the linked article, and the responses
to them.  I am wondering just what the folks at the Corvallis library
and those of you who have responded perceive the mission of the library
to be.  Is the library supposed to be a homeless shelter, a public park,
a drug treatment center, or a branch of community corrections?  Does the
library have an obligation to tolerate daylong use as a hangout by
persons who are not availing themselves of actual library services?

Perhaps society owes these young people something.  Perhaps certain
government agencies owe them something.  It seems to me all the library
owes them is access to library materials and services.  Apparently the
only attraction the library holds for them is free restrooms and
proximity to other free public services in the neighborhood.

The young people need to grow up and take responsibility for their own
lives instead of relying on soup kitchens for their meals, homeless
shelters for a place to sleep, free clinics for health care, and the
library grounds as a clubhouse.  I'm guessing they don't vote and they
don't pay taxes.  The people who are being intimidated by them and who
are therefore avoiding the library are the ones who voted to build it
and fund its operation; they are the ones who are paying taxes to
support it.  What's wrong with this picture?

If there are other agencies which have an obligation to provide social
services to these young people, that's fine, but I fail to see why the
public library needs to provide adult daycare for them to the detriment
of people who need or want to use the library for legitimate library
purposes.
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