The BDN Editorial Board operates independently from the newsroom, and does not set policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com.
Something strange happened to a BDN editorial writer on Thursday evening when he went to the Bangor Public Library.
He saw other patrons perusing bookshelves and using computers. Young families were checking out books to read. Someone seemed to be resting in the cafe area. Staff was kind and helpful as the writer selected a title (“Ten Birds That Changed the World”) to borrow for a few weeks.
Clearly, it was anarchy.
This experience was strange only in that it didn’t fit the narrative offered by some people in recent months, including a Bangor city councilor, that the library isn’t a suitable place to bring young children. Some conversations, including in the BDN comments section, would have you believe that the library is a place of chaos, overrun by homeless people and unsafe for families.
The experience of many others using this wonderful community resource, not just BDN staff, tells a different story.
“I’ve always liked the library and never felt unsafe here,” Adrienne Tomah of Bangor told the BDN recently. She said that she and her children have only had positive experiences at the library. “From the outside, things can look iffy if you’ve never actually gone in, but it’s not fair to make those kinds of assumptions about the library itself.”
The experiences of one family and one journalist don’t represent everyone’s experiences or trends at the library, certainly. And there should be little doubt that public libraries across the country, including in Bangor, have increasingly become de facto service providers for people experiencing homelessness in recent years — offering a space to stay warm or cool, depending on the time of year.
Does this lead to some incidents, including rare ( and declining) cases of suspected drug overdoses? Yes. Does this mean that library goers might occasionally encounter someone who is experiencing homelessness, struggling with substance use or facing other challenges? Yes. But people shouldn’t be surprised when they venture out into public spaces and encounter occasional examples of public challenges.
Public spaces are for all members of the public. And they reflect public priorities. If homeless people are increasingly turning to the library as a resource, perhaps that is because we as a community have not invested enough in other services. Our collective response shouldn’t be to panic or cast aspersions, but to act to help, and to remember that the library and other public spaces are for everyone — not just the people whose current life situations match our own.
Jessica Hall recently told BDN reporter Kathleen O’Brien that social media posts about homelessness and drug use at the library have not stopped her from bringing her 2-year-old daughter there.
“We want her to be aware of the different demographics in her community and learn how to navigate that,” Hall said. “This is a library, and I still want her to get the benefit of a library.”
Public spaces are a reflection of what we value as a public. And libraries are a place to learn, both from books and from each other. Rather than accepting a narrative of chaos and fear, we encourage people to check out the library and experience it for themselves. We expect you’ll find a valuable community resource, and maybe even a good book to read.
