Libraries are reimagining what public safety and access to resources look like; Prism, May 5, 2022

 Tamar Sarai, Prism ; Libraries are reimagining what public safety and access to resources look like

"“People think libraries have changed so much, but really, we’re still doing the same things,” Fewell said. “We are making sure people have access to information and resources… connecting people [with what] they need: food, wound care, connecting to the WiFi because the only device they have to access the internet is their phone… We’re providing resources to get people the next thing that they’re looking for, and I love it.”

As libraries and library staff begin embracing new ways to serve their patrons and in doing so, promote alternative conceptions of public safety, pushback has followed. Local police have decried the initiatives as eroding relationships with law enforcement, and other patrons have argued that their libraries are becoming less safe and that their own needs are being neglected as marginalized community members find themselves increasingly welcome into the library’s branches. However, while providing more social services and even connecting with currently incarcerated people might expand the work of libraries, staff engaging in these initiatives argue that the work is simply a fulfillment of the library’s long-standing purpose to provide information and foster community."