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Libraries and the Homeless (brianna curran)

 Every year the Department of Housing and Urban Development does a report to get an accurate understanding of the homeless situation in the United States of America. As of January 2023, about one in every five hundred Americans are experiencing homelessness. This is a 12.1% increase from the same report done in 2022. Throughout the United States, nonprofits and programs are created to help the homeless and ensure they have access to technology and opportunities. 

The Education for Homeless Children and Youths (EHCY) program aims to ensure that all homeless children and youths have equal access to the same free, appropriate public education provided to other children and youths. The DeKalb County Public Library provides a suggested guide on how to establish library services for homeless youth. Steps to establishing services include: (1) clarifying the purpose of the effort; (2) doing the homework to have adequate background information; (3) developing a plan of action; and (4) keeping the focus on library services. Peter Willett and Rebecca Broadley wrote a journal article highlighting effective public library outreach to homeless people. Their reported findings include “developing partnerships with relevant organizations; removing proof‐of‐identity requirements for joining the library; disseminating the results obtained in projects; using book deposits and mobile library stops; training library staff to ensure that they are aware of relevant issues; building trust in the target audience; ensuring that outreach is tailored to the specific needs of different groups of homeless people; and using a range of methods to evaluate project effectiveness”.


Works Cited

EBSCO and Library plus and Ezproxy Authentication – IT Services - University of Derby, itservicecentre.derby.ac.uk/hc/en-us/articles/360002171640-EBSCO-and-Library-Plus-and-Ezproxy-authentication. Accessed 16 May 2024. 

“How Many Homeless People Are in the US? What Does the Data Miss?” USAFacts, USAFacts, 28 Mar. 2024, usafacts.org/articles/how-many-homeless-people-are-in-the-us-what-does-the-data-miss/#:~:text=The%20total%20homeless%20population%20was,health%20care%20and%20economic%20opportunity. 

Norfolk, Sherry Des Enfants. “Here’s How! Practical Hints for Establishing Library Services in Homeless Shelters.” ERIC, 30 Nov. 1994, eric.ed.gov/?id=ED398337. 

“SAML Authentication (Including Shibboleth V1/2/3, Adfs, Microsoft Entra ID (Azure), Openathens).” OCLC Support, 4 Jan. 2024, help.oclc.org/Library_Management/EZproxy/Authenticate_users/EZproxy_authentication_methods/SAML_authentication. 

        Willett, Peter, and Rebecca Broadley. “Effective Public Library Outreach to Homeless People.” Library Review,                 Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 6 Sept. 2011, www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/00242531111166692/full/html.

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