A.E. Araiza/ Arizona Daily Star
"Daniel Lopez is not a librarian, but one of the nation's first library nurses."
Pima County, Arizona has hired a registered nurse to peruse the stacks and assist many of homeless and downtrodden that frequent the county libraries.
Building on the success of the San Francisco Public Library's hiring of a social worker in 2010, local library officials are fully committed to helping the underserved segments of their visitor pool.
The problem is not an isolated one as Stephanie Inness reports in the Arizona Daily Star:
Lopez is Pima County's novel answer to a common issue in public libraries across the country - a growing number of patrons living without shelter, health insurance, medical care or computer access. They come to the library looking not only for resources, but also for safety and protection from the elements. The shaky economy and high unemployment have further fueled the need.
"We are branching out from the library-science degree and filling positions with other expertises that apply as well," said Marcia Warner, past president of the Public Library Association, a division of the American Library Association. "We serve all populations, and some populations have different issues. It's just part of serving the public."
"A lot of what I do is education," Lopez said. "The stethoscope is mostly so people recognize me." To date, he has already assisted patrons with detoxification, psychiatric crisis, injury and acute illnesses.
Library nurses look after those in need, Arizona Daily Star
Previously on book patrol:
2 comments:
I'm in Chicago where there are of course lots of homeless people who take shelter at the public libraries.
In Chicago you need proof of address to obtain a library card. So the homeless would definitely need to stay in the library to use the books or any other library materials. However, with the Library Nurse introduction, it's no longer a library,--it's a free health clinic with books as a backdrop.
I don't like the Library Nurse solution. I want to be able to go to the library and not have a medical clinic going on there.
I appreciate how the library staff and Chicago PD at the main library downtown kick out the bums.
Here in Chicago, I am glad we don't cater to bums at our library, but rather to library patrons.
Kara, I wonder how you would feel if you were one of the "bums", who had previously enjoyed being just a regular library patron, until you lost your job, or got so sick you couldn't pay your bills and went into debt and lost your home or were evicted...
I lived in Chicago while in college, and man I was dirt poor. I worked more than 40 hours a week, and lived paycheck to paycheck, sleeping 5 hours a night so that I could do my classes, which I paid for myself because I didn't qualify for financial aid because my parents made too much. I spent loads of time in the Library studying, and having a warm quiet space to feel safe in, when I didn't have enough money to pay for the heat in the dead of winter.
That doesn't mean I think the Library Nurse idea is great, but libraries do need to change with the times, and serve the public as its needs evolve. Who knows, perhaps once these homeless get back on their feet, they will be voting in favor of legislation that helps provide funding for libraries.
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