We could all expound on our pets gripes on one side or the other of this, but it seems like a non-issue to me -- the library is restricting circulation among "the homeless," not eliminating it, and there are lots of arrangements the shelters and library could make:
VALPARAISO, Ind. -- Homeless children will not be allowed to check out material from a northwestern Indiana library system, which also has limited adults living in shelters to taking out three books at a time.
Porter County Public Library officials say they established the new policy May 10 after losing more than $4,000 worth of books and audiovisual materials over four to five years because of temporary shelter residents who failed to return them.
I link to it because, like a lot of news stories, it leaves out something critical. The loss the library is complaining about is $1,000 or less a year -- not much shrinkage. As a reader, before I judge this one subgroup, I'd like to know how much the library lost in materials to other, non-homeless patrons. That seems like an obvious question to have asked someone at the library.
