Library was designed with homeless issues in mind

Nancy Pearl keeps telling this story about the homeless man in the library, because -- landmark new building or not -- the problems he represented still exist:

She was walking in the old Central Library when the man stepped out, holding an iron. He was looking for an electrical outlet, she said, and couldn't find one in the men's bathroom. He had a job interview. He needed to iron his shirt.

Pearl, director of the Washington Center for the Book, led him upstairs and let him iron in her own office. His plight still brings tears to her eyes.


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The men's restrooms at the new library were purposely painted a hideous green to discourage long-term use by patrons or the homeless.

"The library should not be a de facto hygiene center," Pearl said. But that's what the old building was for many users. And the new library is likely to be as strong a magnet for homeless people as the old building.

Library staff are quick to emphasize that, at its core, that shouldn't be seen as a problem. Homeless people need the library at least as much as others, if not more. It's "a hugely important resource" for them, from computer classes to job research, said David Carleton, business manager for Fare Start.

The problems fall into three categories, staff said. One is that even homeless people who simply want to use the library in peace can unsettle other users with their body odor -- or, conversely, by using library bathrooms to clean themselves -- or by lugging in their belongings.

Another is that some homeless users don't particularly want to be in the library, but have no place else to go during the day, especially in the winter cold.

And a big one is the subset of users who are also drunks or addicts, or people with mental illnesses who would have been hospitalized in years past.

The new library was designed with those issues in mind.

Among the changes:

The ventilation system was calibrated with the consciousness that book stacks can get dank and musty and that human beings sweat and smell. "I remember early on, Rem (Koolhaas) thinking all I talked about was odor and residue," City Librarian Deborah Jacobs said. Elevators and reading rooms will be especially well-ventilated.

The new library will have more security officers on duty than the old building.

The new building will have working security cameras, and it was designed with more open spaces and clear lines of sight.

While the library's code of conduct hasn't changed, it wasn't always clearly enforced in years past, staff said. All Central Library workers have now been trained in the code, and also on how to enforce it "fairly and responsibly," said library operations director Laurie Brown.

Long term, the library is trying to work with the city to encourage a downtown day shelter and hygiene center. Some of the homeless people using the library want to be there, they say, but others are just looking for one of the few places where they can pass the time with dignity, or use resources like public bathrooms.

Seattle Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis said the main roadblock to establishing such a center downtown is the estimated $800,000 per year it would take to run it.

"It's a really difficult time for the city right now, to take on a new obligation.

"But obviously everyone understands the impact that social issues can have on the library, too, so we have to deal with that."

Mayor Greg Nickels is committed to bringing a hygiene center proposal before the City Council, he said, with information coming by the end of the year.

Pearl said that a long-term solution is what's needed. She keeps hoping that the man with the iron will come back -- to tell her that he got the job.

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