BOULDER, Colo. –
As Timothy John stood outside the Boulder Public Library clutching a cup of coffee Monday afternoon, the homeless man said he was there for a simple reason.
The library’s warm, and welcoming, he said. There are lots of computers, and John, who’s been homeless for months since losing his job working on oil wells across Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, uses them to update his resume.
“Where would you go?” he asked.
Over the past few months, city officials say, growing numbers of homeless people have been spending time in and around the Boulder Public Library’s main branch, at 1001 Arapahoe Ave. It might be a sign of the economic times, or just a geographic shift, observers say.
“The Boulder Public Library reports an increase in apparently homeless persons seeking day shelter in the main library and people along the creek near the library,” Richard Johnson, Boulder’s director of community service, wrote in a memo to the City Council last week.
“This may be due to an increase in homelessness, but may also be attributed to migration from Eben Fine Park, further upstream, which has recently seen a decrease in the number of apparently homeless individuals using the park as a gathering place.”
This spring, officials from several city departments — police, Municipal Court, library staff and others — will meet to try to figure out how to respond to the increase, Johnson said.
“It’ll be good to all sit down and figure out where we are,” he said.
Johnson said the recession may not be behind the shift. People who’ve been pushed into unemployment and homelessness by tough economic times are probably a distinct population from the “chronically homeless” who spend their time in and around the library, he said.
James Budd, a formerly homeless man who spent years on the streets in Boulder, said he thinks the increased presence of homeless people near the library may be due to their exodus from Eben G. Fine Park.
Budd said the park isn’t as accommodating to homeless people as it used to be — especially since the parks department installed a children’s playground a few years ago.
Now, he said, homeless people are likely to be moved along by police.
“Eben G. Fine has become a sanctified place for soccer moms,” Budd said. “Women with kids — they can’t hang out down in Central Park because of the homeless people, so they go up there… It’s family time up there during the day, so we stay the hell away.”
Boulder police spokeswoman Sarah Huntley said officers have been increasing patrols all along Boulder Creek “in response to some quality-of-life issues that have been occurring along that pathway.”
Lynn Reed, the library’s information services manager, said homeless people have always been a part of libraries. As she spoke Monday afternoon, homeless people — mostly men — were sitting quietly at tables and in chairs tucked into corners of the library.
They were reading newspapers and books, or watching videos on YouTube. Reed said she hasn’t noticed a sizable increase in that group’s population.
“I’m thrilled that they’re here,” she said. “They’re very engaged with the library.”
But, she said, there is another group of transients who are more likely to show up when the weather’s cold. They’re just “congregating,” she said, using the library as a place to warm up. And they’re the people other patrons are more likely to notice and complain about.
“It’s a community issue,” she said. “It impacts the library, but at the end of the day, it’s a community issue.”
Contact Camera Staff Writer Ryan Morgan at 303-473-1333 or morganr@dailycamera.com.
Does anyone besides me ever proofread these stories???Are prepositions in short supply at the DC???
jcfitz7
3/30/2009 6:59:57 PM
I think the homeless are actually hanging out of the library, like out the windows
BeanMan
3/30/2009 7:11:54 PM
…Lynn Reed, the library’s information services manager, said homeless people have always been a part of libraries…”I’m thrilled that they’re here,” she said. “They’re very engaged with the library.”…
Lynn, rather than close the library branch you should be fired.
thesurfrider
3/30/2009 7:13:40 PM
“More homeless people hanging out Boulder’s library”
The headline of the lead story, hilarious.Come on, you don’t see mistakes like that in high school newspapers.
NukesInBoulder
3/30/2009 7:18:44 PM
the library is free to the public-any and all-so why is this news. there are probably more homeless people EVERYWHERE these days. not just the library.
and I love the one guys quote about the soccer moms at eben fine park-
just like we shouldn’t look at someone in the library and “assume” that they are homeless, they should not look at the moms at the park and “assume” that they are soccer moms. they might be some other type of moms.
there are hoards of small children that are much more disruptive to the library than the homeless people-someone should do a story on that.
why must we analyze everything.
getaclue
3/30/2009 7:52:12 PM
“Does anyone besides me ever proofread these stories??? Are prepositions in short supply at the DC???”
Maybe, maybe not.Just never use prepositions to end sentences with.
tpon
3/30/2009 7:55:05 PM
From where do they ‘hang’ the public library?
Do they hang out the library to dry?
Or do they ‘hang out’ AT the public library?
Come on DC…grow some editorial skills…
5th graders at any BVSD school could do better…
BHS80
3/30/2009 7:55:23 PM
Yeah! You newspaper guys are soooo dumb! ZOMG! We are so much smarter than the staff at the newspaper… WE should be writing these stories!
Jeez. What a bunch of pedants. Lighten up, this isn’t the New York Times. It’s a Scripps paper.
Jesus_was_a_socialist
3/30/2009 8:01:38 PM
I know for a fact that many of Denver’s homeless flock to Boulder seeking the ***** star shelter & $200 dollar “help me, I’m homeless” payouts -The city should offer a warming center/ clubhouse for the homeless or anyone who wants to stay warm or use a phone etc – This seems to work well in Longmont…But then again downtown Longmont isn’t teeming with drug saleslike the area near the Boulder library. The stupid Boulder cops pretty much are no where to be seen when real crime is happening in downtown Boulder. I think the stroll down The Pearl St. Mall beat is a walk (not) in the park for them.
Gardenburgers4prariedogs
3/30/2009 8:02:00 PM
Bigger issue is why the library has to hire security officers to patrol inside rather than the Boulder Police Department staffing someone at the library all day. Confrontations and altercations are common.It is a shame that we can’t have comfortable chairs any more in our own library because too many of these folks used them in lieu of beds, and sometimes bathrooms.
boco
3/30/2009 8:09:18 PM
There have always been a lot of homeless people at the library.
This is a tough topic to address. On one hand, the homeless have a right to be there as does anyone else. On the other hand, if this were any other group of people using the library for a purpose other than the library was designated, no one would hesitate to ask them to leave. Boulder is probably once again being strangled by our own political correctness.The library is a place for study, not a club to hang out at all day or a place to sleep. The city has provided appropriate services for the homeless such as a nice shelter with job programs, but many homeless who hang around the creek don’t want to use those services b/c they require them to stay sober, so they sleep by the creek and hang out in the library all day.I guess the homeless do make it unpleasant as they sleep in the cubicles, stash their gear around which may not be all that nice smelling, and sometimes shoot up or bathe in the bathrooms. In the end I’d have to say that the library wasn’t meant to be a shelter for the homeless. It’s funded to provide the public with another kind of service so the homeless should probably go. I imagine that with the numbers of homeless down there now, it won’t be long before the library needs to start providing security, so it’s probably appropriate for the police to go through there and ask the people sleeping etc, to leave.
Flyonthewall
3/30/2009 8:11:30 PM
Posted by sawyer on March 30, 2009 at 8:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I know for a fact that many of Denver’s homeless flock to Boulder seeking the ***** star shelter & $200 dollar “help me, I’m homeless” payouts –
*******
You’re right about that. I know for a fact that the chronically sick that get picked up by the police in Denver are given a bus token to go to Boulder and told to hang out at the bus station until they get picked up and taken to boulder county jail so we get stuck with the cost of their med treatment. Know a guy that got a 30,000$ appendix operation, among a few other things, this way, that Denver didn’t want to pay for.
Flyonthewall
3/30/2009 8:15:52 PM
Sawyer, fighting crime doesn’t generate revenue like writing you a speeding ticket does.
Jesus_was_a_socialist
3/30/2009 8:16:27 PM
Posted by boco on March 30, 2009 at 8:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Bigger issue is why the library has to hire security officers to patrol inside rather than the Boulder Police Department staffing someone at the library all day. Confrontations and altercations are common. It is a shame that we can’t have comfortable chairs any more in our own library because too many of these folks used them in lieu of beds, and sometimes bathrooms.
******
This right here reflects the problem. If all of us stop using the library because we don’t feel it’s safe there-either because of hygiene or fear of being attacked or having our property stolen-the library stops being a library. It’s gotten to the point it’s not safe taking kids to the public library. I’ve seen men there checking child porn sites on computers right outside the children’s section (these weren’t homeless people). I complained and a librarian caught the guy. I offered to file a complaint with the police as to what I saw. But it’s not safe. The man was hostile and it’s not really a librarians job or a patrons to confront these people all day long. I say the homeless have to be removed and we have to feel like the library is still a library-not a daytime shelter.
Flyonthewall
3/30/2009 8:19:59 PM
Posted by Jesus_was_a_socialist on March 30, 2009 at 8:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Sawyer, fighting crime doesn’t generate revenue like writing you a speeding ticket does.
******
Funny and good observation, though I’m not exactly sure this is absolutely true in this case. The library gets at least some of its funding depending on how many people use it. And not use it to sleep in or apparently to pee on the chairs as noted by boco (ewww). I think they get funding based on how many books are checked out. If people stop using the library because of the homeless, library funding would decrease. Though that type of funding is more than likely from from a federal or state level. You’re right in that it doesn’t generate money for the county which is what the people that assign the officers are probably most concerned about.
Flyonthewall
3/30/2009 8:26:32 PM
“Where would you go?” he asked.
Part of the issue is exactly that — where to “go.” The library is nice, and the bathrooms are nice. I’d certainly hang there if I found myself in that situation. And sure, they’re also using the computers and the library itself, as they should. But as someone else, mentioned, it’s a community issue here, and public resources are part of it. Do we need more facilities downtown? (Restrooms and public computers?)
KR
3/30/2009 8:45:00 PM
Um…I believe the correct term is “hanged”
InigoMontoya
3/30/2009 8:51:53 PM
In other news, the daily camera has seen an increase in the number of people posting to its blogs.
bouldermeister
3/30/2009 8:55:41 PM
Thank you Lynn for your dedication to the library and what it stands for.Thank you for supporting ALL users of the library.There is a reason it is called the PUBLIC library – it is for the public – all of the public not just some of the public.
mindykittay
3/30/2009 9:00:00 PM
TCW – what’s with the quotes, genius?
bouldermeister – blogs doesn’t mean what you think it means. looks like you need to spend some time in the library doing some research.
Jesus_was_a_socialist
3/30/2009 9:20:43 PM
To the person who said the library’s bathrooms are nice – Maybe you haven’t been in the men’s rooms?The bums give themselves “baths” in the sinks, splashing water everywhere.Then they avail themselves of the throne, splashing…other stuff…everywhere.It’s quite disgusting.
To the librarian who is “thrilled” to see the bums taking up computers that other people could use to do an actual search for an actual book they might want to check out: please remember who pays your salary, lady.The bums push out local citizens who would otherwise use the library.Oh, and please do a walk through of your depressing, dirty and lame “children’s” library.Then visit the Lafayette and Broomfield children’s libraries and see how a person who actually cares about kids designs a library for them.
The Boulder library sucks, people.
ThatCertainWoman
3/30/2009 9:24:33 PM
His choice of words, Hayseuss, not mine.
ThatCertainWoman
3/30/2009 9:26:41 PM
Posted by mindykittay on March 30, 2009 at 9 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you Lynn for your dedication to the library and what it stands for. Thank you for supporting ALL users of the library. There is a reason it is called the PUBLIC library – it is for the public – all of the public not just some of the public.
********
But it’s a library. Not a daytime shelter. The homeless aren’t using it as a library. There is NO way they can be issuing them library cards. You have to show a utility bill or lease from something in town. So no way to check out books. You obviously haven’t been in the downtown library to see. They’re using it to sleep and bathe and do drugs and just hang out. This is not what the library was intended for. If a homeless guy was just sitting in there reading, I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable of him just being at the library just because he’s from a different social economic level. But I have yet to see a homeless guy in there reading books.
Flyonthewall
3/30/2009 9:40:42 PM
You know you can go to any town or big city and will find alot of homeless hanging out at the library.This is never going to change.
jester1cp@hotmail.com
3/30/2009 9:53:37 PM
Just yesterday I was wondering where I might take my young children to experience the joyous diversity offered by drunken schizophrenics reeking of their own urine.
annoying@annoying.com
3/30/2009 10:22:27 PM
seems like their is alot of un-employeed english teechers posting.Should you guys bee looking four jobs?
apm8945@hotmail.com
3/31/2009 1:24:08 AM
i respect the fact that the library is for everyone, but some of the homeless people are a little hard to take —
for instance, you think you’ve discovered a quiet table when a guy sits down next to you who is trailing toilet paper from the bottom leg of his pants, smells terrible and is talking to himself
sort of reduces the appeal of the library
Robert_Paul_Smoke
3/31/2009 5:10:38 AM
Anything the government subsidizes will grow.
Like bums.
dont@bugmenot.com
3/31/2009 5:32:56 AM
I wish they’d start putting wipes next to the seats in the library so after you sit down you don’t suddenly realize you’re sitting in a pissed-on chair.
Mrs_Danvers
3/31/2009 7:15:39 AM
We need to find a way to deal with the homeless – just spouting hate isn’t going to solve the problem.Driving these people away doesn’t solve it either – it just shifts it elsewhere.This is not just a Boulder issue, it is an issue of our society.Boulder is a rich town and in a much better position to show compassion than some other places – perhaps that is why there are more homeless here.It doesn’t really matter why they come, the alternative to finding a way to help them is people dying in the streets – and even the most callous of you would probably not want to see that.
The library provides a place for everyone to read and use the computers.If you have been to the library and been denied access to a computer, and can document that fact, then something needs to be done about limiting the time any individual can monopolize a computer.There are ways to mitigate the impact of high demand for resources – cutting off a particular portion of the population because they are down on their luck isn’t acceptable.
I know most of you think this could never happen to you, but you might just find yourself out on the streets or in need of public assistance – you would probably change your tune at that point.
We have so much, how can we deny those with nothing a warm place to read and use a computer – and if they need a place to shower, perhaps we need some public showers as well.Yes, it all costs money – but how many flat screen TVs and new cars do y’all need – I have neither but I’m still rich beyond measure compared to the homeless folks.
Don’t be so greedy – show some compassion – life is good, stop complaining and enjoy it a little.
connie@cozmic.com
3/31/2009 7:22:50 AM
Thanks to all the vagrants we now have an armed security guard at the library. Plus, we also have snoring, body odors, detritus, bags of garbage, filthy bathrooms and a bunch of people NOT reading anything.
meatpieandtatters
3/31/2009 7:24:53 AM
If it OK to segregate the kids in the library, why not segregate the bums?If the teens can have a special room, let’s make one for the bums too.
But Seriously, unfortunately my little kids still like to go to the library. Anyone who doesn’t think there is an increase in loitering closer and closer to the library, and now inside it, hasn’t been there. Just because you are in the library, doesn’t mean you are there to read a book.It has changed the dynamic in the library, and for the worse.
bouldermeister
3/31/2009 7:35:01 AM
24-7, tireless, “Park to Library” socialistic redistributionist Boulderinos must be relishing this annoying and continuing invasion of these stinky homeless wretches. We take care of them at night and during the day. What a great warm feeling we have as we read (but probably do not experience) the tales of a warm, welcoming BoPubLibrary, with bearded, odoriferous, often mentally ill and/or drug-dependent beggars, as they hover about glowing computer screens (which we pay for with tax money, of course…), “clutching” a cup of free java and emailing their friends to come to Boulder and get it all (food, shelter, computers, a sympathetic Lib majority!!) for FREE!!
Cheer up, folks; Spring is on the way, and with it, the return of the homeless to the Park system, and out of, and away from, the welcoming warmth of our once-clean and well-operated Public Library!!
jsaturn@earthlink.net
3/31/2009 7:51:33 AM
I think we should remove all the library materials excluding CD’s install couches and expand the bathrooms to include showers.We also need more computers and the addition of free phones. The librarian “thrilled” to see the bums can become the new concierge for these folks.We want to make sure that we set aside adequate space for the drug dealers who need a place to conduct business.Tax paying citizens can be reassigned to Ebin Fine Park since they have already taken control of this area.The Boulder Police department can then focus their energy on setting up speed traps around the park.
Woolybugger
3/31/2009 8:21:56 AM
Why not send em to old Cherry Creek Tree Farm north of Lafayette to save the “skinny trees” that the county wants to annihilate.Its a win win.Bums get paid to leave Boulder, tree worshipers get their Root Chakras to glow.
superGboulder
3/31/2009 8:35:05 AM
I didn’t realize the charter of the Boulder Public Library was to provide a homeless day shelter.
You learn something new every day.
Donkey__Hotay
3/31/2009 8:47:55 AM
Well I guess it is “official” now More homeless hang at the library.
I went there the other morning to get a book and as soon as I walked in the door it smelled of urine and body odor. All computers were full of shelter bums playing video games and looking at young girls on singles sites (dream on) and the benches were full of shelter bums waiting for a computer.
So I was wondering is there more homeless at the library?
But after reading this article now I know there is “officially” more homeless at the library.
sidd
3/31/2009 8:50:50 AM
Lynn Reed on homeless men: “I’m thrilled that they’re here,” she said.
—–
Lynn, do you even think before you open your mouth and let words fall out?Perhaps you have forgotten that you work at a LIBRARY and not a homeless shelter.
I have an idea, since you love the bums so much.How about get rid of some of the books to make more room for them?You could put a few cots in there, serve hot coffee.Since you seem to dream of working at a homeless shelter, why not use your position to turn the library into what you really want it to be?
Also, Lynn, if I come to the library, will you help me do a little research on how I (a local citizen) can get you (a public servant) fired?I’m not a homeless man reeking of urine and cigarette smoke, therefore not your ideal patron, but nevertheless I would appreciate any help you could provide.
ThatCertainWoman
3/31/2009 8:50:55 AM
those soccer moms at Eben Fine Park are really hookers. Just ax ’em.
squeezer
3/31/2009 8:45:20 AM
Lynn Reed, the library’s information services manager, said homeless people have always been a part of libraries. As she spoke Monday afternoon, homeless people — mostly men — were sitting quietly at tables and in chairs tucked into corners of the library.
They were reading newspapers and books, or watching videos on YouTube. Reed said she hasn’t noticed a sizable increase in that group’s population.
“I’m thrilled that they’re here,” she said. “They’re very engaged with the library.”
*********
No biased reporting here. Every one of us has been at the library and experienced the complete opposite of what this camera reporter declares is going on. I’d like to see Lynn’s historical research on the fact that homeless people have always been a part of libraries. If lynn prefers the library to be a homeless shelter rather than a place for people to engage in culture in a safe and clean environment, maybe she could stop asking the taxpayers for money to support the library and start asking for funds for the homeless instead.
I can’t think of a single reason why arts and culture are dying in this country, can you?
laughinghard
3/31/2009 8:58:22 AM
Hanging out with a hangover.Can we get the Division of Wildlife to tranquilize and relocate any of these creekside boozing, library residents?They pose more of a threat to Boulder than the mountain lions.
inherentrisk
3/31/2009 9:07:09 AM
In related news, is this why the library got a new address? To get in line with it’s new purpose? 148 Crackden?
laughinghard
3/31/2009 9:10:40 AM
If you build it… they will come.
HowardFineandHoward
3/31/2009 9:10:54 AM
I used to do tutoring at the library until my students and I got tired of being disrupted by crazies foaming at the mouth and of the pervasive stench of filth. One time a homeless person actually barked at me and my student and told us to be quiet because the library was “a place for studying.” Meanwhile we actually WERE studying and was sitting in the corner with (I do not exaggerate) a pile of at least two dozen bags of junk – and he smelled of beer as well.
This is not a compassion issue. This is about the city taking our tax dollars (those of us who pay taxes) and giving away services to bums who make those services unusable for the rest of us.
I have no problem “driving the problem away” to other places. Let other fools deal with this; I’d rather have a clean library that doesn’t smell like a barn.
myaccount
3/31/2009 9:16:58 AM
“This spring, officials from several city departments — police, Municipal Court, library staff and others — will meet to try to figure out how to respond to the increase, Johnson said.”
—–
Why not let the public attend these meetings and give us a chance to speak?It is OUR library after all, we pay for it.And we are the ones adversely affected by the bums’ presence.As the majority of comments here show, ordinary citizens are being pushed out, seemingly to the delight of one of the library’s own managers.That is dereliction of duty at best, and malfeasance at worst.If the library staff is already so biased towards bums and against tax-paying citizens, how can they possibly provide neutral input at these meetings?
Let the public speak!
ThatCertainWoman
3/31/2009 9:28:40 AM
“I’m thrilled that they’re here,” she said. “They’re very engaged with the library.”
Lynn Reed, you made my day.If only everyone’s heart were so large…
ogghead@yahoo.com
3/31/2009 9:42:16 AM
“They were reading newspapers and books, or watching videos on YouTube.”
Updating your resume is a valid reason to be using a computer at the library — but what percentage of the homeless LOITERING around the library actually have a resume to update? Rather than wasting time reading, watching You Tube, or sleeping, perhaps their time would be better spent actually going out and looking for a job. I’m not trying to be harsh, but until these people hit rock bottom, they will have no incentive to change their lifestyles.
karmicmarmot
3/31/2009 9:45:09 AM
karmicmarmot tried: “but what percentage of the homeless LOITERING around the library actually have a resume to update?”
Who knows?You certainly don’t.
ogghead@yahoo.com
3/31/2009 9:46:06 AM
The library is an example of a percentage of the group ruining it for the rest.
I have absolutely nothing agent homeless people they are just people without a home.
A lot of these people are the scum of the homeless society and they abuse public space and make it non usable to the rest of the public.
Like a couple of the other posters were saying a lot of the parts of the library a person cannot study in or use because they are full of noisy, smelly, obnoxious people that have no respect for other human beings
The real issue is abuse of public space.
It is really a complex and hard issue to deal with; I have actually read stories of homeless people suing public libraries for getting thrown out for various reasons. And if you just go around and start running people off you end up living in a Nazi hellhole like places in the Southern U.S.
It is a nation wide issues all public libraries in cities deal with this problem.
sidd
3/31/2009 9:47:03 AM
Ha, what a classic example of “not in my backyard” politics.I wonder how many of those complaining about the bums voted Democrat in the past?The core of liberalism is bigger government, more social programs, and “helping” those in need so that they remain dependent on the government.More government dependencies means more democrat votes.
Boulder, keep voting to raise taxes on those evil rich people who actually keep this country afloat.Unfortunately you can’t have your cake and eat it too.Enjoy your liberal bed that you have made.
Liberalism is a mental disorder.
BigFun
3/31/2009 9:49:20 AM
Posted by ogghead on March 31, 2009 at 9:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
“I’m thrilled that they’re here,” she said. “They’re very engaged with the library.”
Lynn Reed, you made my day. If only everyone’s heart were so large…
*************
Or if everyone were so stupid.
Lynn’s heart is obviously not large enough to feel some empathy for the poor cleaners that have to come in at night and clean up filth and dirty syringes. Maybe she’d give up her job behind glass, far removed from the problems the rest of us are experiencing and become the library janitor instead?
I’ve got the answer. Let’s get the urine drinking guy in there. He’ll clean up the problem. Ha ha ha ha.
laughinghard
3/31/2009 9:49:39 AM
Connie….havent you read…most of Boulderites have no compassion except for themselves…this isnt the old Boulder of the 70’s….We got bought out and crap moved in.
BHS80… a 5th grade BVSD child could do better….DOUBT IT!
he_b_gb@yahoo.com
3/31/2009 9:52:30 AM
Ogghead,
I’m not sure what the purose of your last post was. However, if you’d like me to clarify further, my guess is that the homeless who use the seats as toilets are the ones without the resumes.
karmicmarmot
3/31/2009 9:57:15 AM
While I realize that the library is a public place, if there is vandalism taking place or a public health and safety concern, action should be taken. I agree with the poster who said that Boulder should offer a community center where the homeless could have access to computers and a place to warm up, without disrupting other library patrons.
While I consider myself to take a liberal standpoint on many issues, I find myself taking a more conservative approach on this one.If the public library is funded by Boulder taxpayer dollars and the homeless are not paying taxes, one could argue that the people who help keep the library operational should have the right to enjoy a safe, comfortable, and healthy library experience.
fojo
3/31/2009 10:07:02 AM
Lynn’s got the hots.
mrjohnson
3/31/2009 10:11:51 AM
All the wannabe editor stiffs are silly.
meatpieandtatters
3/31/2009 10:18:30 AM
Posted by sidd on March 31, 2009 at 9:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The library is an example of a percentage of the group ruining it for the rest.
I have absolutely nothing agent homeless people they are just people without a home.
A lot of these people are the scum of the homeless society and they abuse public space and make it non usable to the rest of the public.
Like a couple of the other posters were saying a lot of the parts of the library a person cannot study in or use because they are full of noisy, smelly, obnoxious people that have no respect for other human beings
The real issue is abuse of public space.
*************
But this logic is obviously lost on the librarian as well as several posters here like ogghead. Personally, I have the same issue with people who talk too loud on their mobile phones or tell their kids to go to the library after school because they don’t want to pay for after school care and the kids end up running around yelling and screaming until their parent picks them up at 6.30 and a librarian ends up having to be a babysitter. Less and less people know how to act in public anymore. People talk on their phones in excessively loud voices, demanding that we take part in their conversation whether we’d like to or not. I’ve been in Barnes and Noble and had some guy sitdown next to me, take his shoes off and nap away snoring as loud as an elephant. I’d like to enjoy the library for what it is-a place to enjoy the arts and culture and not have to deal with barking drug users foaming at the mouth. Boulder has a nice homeless shelter. But I don’t think the people that camp by the creek use it.
laughinghard
3/31/2009 10:19:16 AM
What the city of Boulder needs to do is have a summer shelter program, a place to go during the day and night.It would require the city donating 1 or 2 acres of land and putting up 2 to 4 military tents, one of those tents would have books and computers in it.Doing this would alleviate problems with a number of issues, the library would see less homeless, the law enforcement (Rangers & Police)would have less problems.Fundraising efforts to make this happen.
pwl1234
3/31/2009 10:23:51 AM
Posted by pwl1234 on March 31, 2009 at 10:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What the city of Boulder needs to do is have a summer shelter program, a place to go during the day and night…..
******
Personally, I don’t think this would solve the problem. The people that hang out by the creek by night, library by day, do not inhabit the homeless shelter. They have drug and alcohol issues that prohibit them from the shelter because they are a safety issue for the residents of the shelter. Instead they hang out in the library where they are welcomed to threaten the well-being of library patrons!!!! Ha. Makes sense doesn’t it?
laughinghard
3/31/2009 10:28:41 AM
Guardians of pets and homeless people.
HowardFineandHoward
3/31/2009 10:29:56 AM
I agree that law enforcement needs to do a periodic sweep and arrest and prosecute those offenders, so they won’t be so keen to come back here.I am still inclined to think my idea has some possibilities, and would be cost effective until some better idea comes along.
pwl1234
3/31/2009 10:35:19 AM
If we re-introduce the wolf to Boulder as a top predator, the homeless problem should be sorted out quickly.We’ll need more street sweepers to clean up the bones and piles of dirty clothes left behind, but that will help with job creation.A win-win situation for everyone!
bykhed
3/31/2009 10:35:51 AM
The Main Library has become more popular than ever for homeless people for two reasons:
1) The Carriage House homeless people’s day center, located at 1120 1/2 Pine in downtown, is limited to a maximum capacity of 25 occupants by order of the Boulder fire marshal. This gives you a good idea of how tiny and inadequate Carriage House is at its current location — better that it move up to the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless facility in north Boulder at 4869 N. Broadway. This would greatly reduce the numbers of homeless people downtown.
2) Inadequate enforcement of laws against public intoxication, drug possession and sales, urinating in public, disturbing the peace, etc. Old Doc has been urging Boulder PD to run the miscreants out of city parks for many months; take them down to the RTD station and put them on a bus back to Denver, from whence most of them have come.
Let Brinkley also add that he is one who expects some accountability from other homeless people like himself, the majority of whom are decent human beings possessed of good morals and practicing proper hygiene. It’s the small number who are just disgusting in every way that stigmatize every homeless person — and worst of all are enablers and apologists like the “formerly homeless man who spent years on the streets in Boulder” quoted in the article.
Old Doc, too, has been on the streets a long time; but, he has never allowed the streets to define who and what he is . . .
Doc_Brinkley
3/31/2009 10:37:16 AM
Why not let them hang out at the Pelotin? Doesn’t look to me like there are a lot of people stupid or rich enough to live in that high-priced monstrosity!
DianeMad
3/31/2009 10:38:45 AM
Boulder likes building it’s multi-million dollar residences, more money for Boulder, less affordable housing for the people working at poverty wages.The city council needs to react to these issues, and make the nessasary changes.
pwl1234
3/31/2009 10:49:33 AM
Bums out and take Lynn Reed with them. I’ve been there twice and both times saw police dealing with the bums and a homeless woman sleeping on the floor where she wet herself. The place is more of an insane asylum than a library. Disgusting.
rhinolips
3/31/2009 10:52:13 AM
Posted by pwl1234 on March 31, 2009 at 10:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Boulder likes building it’s multi-million dollar residences, more money for Boulder, less affordable housing for the people working at poverty wages. The city council needs to react to these issues, and make the nessasary changes.
********
It’s a nice thought and one I would have had a few years back, but I have problems blaming every thing on the egos of the rich and their million dollar developments. There is plenty of affordable housing close to Boulder (longmont and louisville) but the people that can afford it, turn their noses up at it. Are they therefore any better than the rich? Too many people living here keep those people rich and land prices high. We’re all to blame. Lots of people on here on a daily basis calling Longmont Crackmont and making fun of the people that live out there when some parts of it are really quite nice.
laughinghard
3/31/2009 10:57:14 AM
The comments section of the DC might be really boring if folks weren’t so quick to post their extreme, one-sided arguments, and black-and-white generalizations. The use of labels makes it especially fun!
But how about we stop with words like “bum” and “lazy” and claiming that somehow all Democrats are to blame because they have a “mental disorder”.
There is no need to focus on the incidental fact that many of the aforementioned individuals happen to be homeless. Our challenge is to try and strike a balance between compassion, and setting limits with people who violate the rights of others. We do not need to know whether people using the library have homes or not. We can open our doors and make public resources available to everyone and if an individual is abusing these privileges, or violating the rights of others, we have the means to make the situation right. But please, don’t pour fuel on this fire by associating problem individuals with the homeless population. Sensationalizing an argument of this type does no one any good.
texarado
3/31/2009 11:04:31 AM
The Boulder Public Library is a complete joke, and the staff’s attitude towards the scum ruining the main branch is a perfect example why. You can’t walk through the front doors without being choked on vomit, sweat beer and urine odors, and that’s if you aren’t threatened by the bums..oops sorry, “odor providers.”
Homeless people are entitled to use public facilities, but everyone is expected to follow the rules of the library and the library staff should be expected to enforce them, even if it means dealing with their precious homeless that they are so “thrilled” to welcome.
Of course, if the police weren’t completely invisible unless they can bully college students at random, they could make the scum less welcome in Central Park, and for that matter along the creek path by Boulder High School, where they congregate in the warmer months so they can threaten people using another public facility.
choderlos1741@yahoo.com
3/31/2009 11:05:00 AM
Except on Sunday afternoons when the weather is warm. Then, Eben G. Fine park is where you will find Latino gangbangers strutting about, drinking, fighting, and urinating in public. Go up there some Sunday afternoon and see for yourself. The children’s playground does nothing to deter them.
snarlpup
3/31/2009 11:13:07 AM
Until the city of Boulder provides a place for the homeless to go during the day and night all year long, the library is the place to be, I thought my solution was a resonable one, and the details of it, could be worked out by the Boulder city council.
pwl1234
3/31/2009 11:22:52 AM
Everyone should have access to public resources, but access should be denied when you use the library as a shower/bed/or any other use that goes beyond what the library stands for. So, if everyone in the library is being respectful of other patrons (quiet, not monopolizing space or computers) and using the library in the way it is meant to be used (reading, writing, using the computer), then no harm, no foul. If you come in and flood the bathroom, you are out. If you pee anywhere, you are out. If you are sleeping in the library all day, you are out. Time limits on computer usage when there are people waiting should also be in place.
We aren’t in the habit of letting children pee in the corner or flood the bathroom or be continually loud (or if we are, something is amiss). Respect the use of the library, or move on. I thought that there were resources for showering/sleeping/etc. for the homeless. They need to do that stuff at the shelter. It is not too much to ask, and I support the shelter. The library is a separate entity.
moresmilesplease
3/31/2009 11:22:58 AM
Reading these comments make me sick. Thank you, Lynn, and thanks to the thousands of compassionate and empathetic people in Boulder who volunteer, work, and donate for the help of the homeless in our community.
pheasanttail81
3/31/2009 11:23:31 AM
Read my above post, it’s a possible solution.
pwl1234
3/31/2009 11:24:39 AM
I never thought in a billion years I’d say this as am great lover of literature and quiet space, but I guess it’s time to stop funding the library as it clearly isn’t being used as it was intended and reallocate those funds to where they are needed. We certainly don’t need to be paying a information technology manager like Lynn or a bunch of other high priced administrators a large salary to manage what’s essentially become a homeless shelter. The library is for the arts. If it’s isn’t going to support the arts, we need not to support it.
And to all you self righteous holier than thou pc posters like pheasanttail-get a grip. People are entitled to use the library and not have to sit in urine soaked seats or witness people shooting up in the bathroom. Stop being such a zealot and re-read the posts and what people are really complaining about isn’t people being homeless, but the way these people are using the library for purposes that are unsuitable to the library.
laughinghard
3/31/2009 11:36:47 AM
Hey pheasanttail81, why don’t you invite the bums to stay with you? Please let us know how it turns out for you.
rhinolips
3/31/2009 11:37:44 AM
Old Doc knows the homeless man on the right in the photo with this article, except he uses a different name at Boulder Shelter and elsewhere.
A true story about “Titto” — Last time Brinkley saw this guy at Boulder Shelter in the evening, a month or more ago, he was passed out drunk in the doorway to the intake area. A staff member saw him, and since the paramedics just happened to be parked next door at the Bustop Gentleman’s Club waiting for a call, she went over and asked them to check on Titto’s welfare. The two male paramedics, one a big guy and the other much smaller, then did so.
After a brief conversation, Titto staggered to his feet and went after the smaller paramedic, shouting at him, “You’re f***ing with my head, man!” Titto chased the poor paramedic up and down the sidewalk, while the big one phoned Boulder PD for assistance. It was rather comical, since Titto was too unsteady on his feet to have any chance of catching his prey. But, shelter staff was concerned enough to lock the doors to the intake area during this melee.
No more than a minute later, the first police car arrived and a really big African-American officer stepped out. Titto froze in his tracks, threw up his hands, and said to the officer, “You know me!” Boulder’s finest replied, with disgust in his voice, “Yes, I know you.” Old Doc, at this point having gotten his camping gear fron his locker already, left the scene.
Apparently, Titto was transported to the ARC for (voluntary) detox, and he was at the Main Library the next day claiming that he’d blacked out and remembered nothing.
Titto also fancies himself quite the ladies’ man, but that’s another story . . .
Doc_Brinkley
3/31/2009 11:41:06 AM
“Ijnacio Lopez, left, a homeless artist from Jalisco, Mexico,….”
Am I the only one who picked up on this joke? Ryan left out the part about being an obvious ILLEGAL ALIEN, (oops, sorry, undocumented unemployed visitor.)
UncleEthan
3/31/2009 11:43:51 AM
How does Titto do with the kiddies at the library?
snarlpup
3/31/2009 11:44:40 AM
uncle ethan,
you’re not the only one, but don’t think the camera meant it as a joke. They take themselves awfully seriously these days. Yeah, he’s obviously an illegal, but we’re not supposed to talk about that in boulder.
laughinghard
3/31/2009 11:50:17 AM
Why is non-taxpaying illegal alien “artist” Ijnacio Lopez allowed to hang out at a public library that I pay for with my tax dollars? He should be shipped home on the next bus.
snarlpup
3/31/2009 11:59:39 AM
Obviously, given the workings of bureaucracy here in America, it’s only immigrants who are actually working who can’t get a Green Card.
Old Doc finds it entirely believable that an unemployed artist is here LEGALLY.
Now, what about those illegals from European countries in the Boulder peloton?
Doc_Brinkley
3/31/2009 12:29:32 PM
You’re right Doc. If you’re a legal immigrant you probably use an immigration attorney.
Anyway, if everyone would just give the guys on the corner a $10 or $20, in no time they could get on their feet and wouldn’t be homeless.
abadger
3/31/2009 12:51:21 PM
Judging from the picture at the front of this article… maybe they can study ENGLISH there.
angrynative
3/31/2009 12:52:50 PM
Library officials could break this up real quick by handing out debit cards for Liquor Mart.
RedWhiteAndBush
3/31/2009 1:40:55 PM
The people who are attacking Lynn Reed and Jim Budd are part of the problem, because they’re definitely too ignorant to be part of the solution.
They were probably raised in other parts of the country and brought their lack of manners with them when they moved here.
Just get 2 tallies–one for the number of people who need a place to go during the day, and another for the number of people who need a place to go at night–and figure out where to put them. We’re talking hundreds of people, not thousands….
At that point, it’s up to the shelter and carriage house to decide whether they need more space in order to accomodate everyone. It’s a problem they’ve been working on for years, and they’re best equipped to deal with it.
Keep Lynn & Jim out of it.
boulderrules
3/31/2009 1:46:24 PM
I have a small toddler and I like to take her to the library for story time and for checking out books, etc. I have to say, its been downright disgusting when we walk in- more than once. I often have to hold my breath as we walk by the computers, etc. We got there early one day before the library opened and since it was nice out I thought we would run around outside but it was so foul all around there and honestly, i was a bit nervous. I dont think the term “homeless” is appropriate here- I think “vagrant” is. I am full of compassion for people who are not able to fend off their addictions and whose lives have been unkind and lead them to such a wreck. I think services for them should be funded- either through public dollars or private charities but I also think that I should be able to let my 16 month old walk around outside a library in a public park without being scared because there is someone walking by at 9:30 AM completely drunk and visibly angry, barking at me or another guy urinating into the creek. There are more cigarette butts than rocks and plenty of needles for the kids to play with! I really dont think that PUBLIC places should only be used by vagrants because their use keeps others out. I dont think this is a compassion issue- its possible to be compassionate and also want to be able to use public places like libraries and parks without having your child play in someones vomit. If people can abide by basic laws and principles that are there for public health and safety- then by all means come on in (and out as far as the surrounding area is concerned). Even if you are stinky- I can deal with that but basic laws need to be enforced because it really is rather out of control in that area. I also have the right to use public places safely and without being exposed to body fluids.
dp2
3/31/2009 1:50:10 PM
hey Jesus_was_a_socialist!
The Daily camera is no loger a Scripps own paper.
know your news dude
mountainpup
3/31/2009 1:52:07 PM
I think it is time we differentiate between true homeless people and bums.You can be homeless for awhile, use public services, get yourself back on your feet, and again become a contributing citizen.I’m all for helping these people.The buses, libraries, parks, and creek paths are downright scary sometimes with drunk, angry, muttering bums who feel they have a right to have a conversation with you.Maybe if we made smoking illegal in public parks, we’d have a legal reason to make them move on.
summerof1975
3/31/2009 2:10:45 PM
Congratulations to Lynn “I’m Thrilled They’re Here” Reed for moving into the top three in Boulder’s “Idiotic Statement By a Public Employee/Official This Decade” race.
First place is currently, and probably insurmountably, held by then City Council member Lisa Morzel for her immortal, “I’ve take away my kid’s squirt guns to conserve water” remark during the summer of 2002 drought.
Second place is currently a tie between then City Council member Francoise Poinisetta’s memorable, “We should limit how long people are allowed to take a shower” (also during the ’02 drought) and, need I say it, then Council member Spencer Havlik’s 2003 effort: “CU students should go to Iran during spring break to serve as human shields” beauty.
Nice job, Lynn.
strike3
3/31/2009 2:10:45 PM
Correction : Havlik wanted the CU shields for Iraq.
strike3
3/31/2009 2:14:52 PM
No wonder Superior voted ‘no’ on funding and getting their own library; they don’t want a homeless shelter next to their park.Why don’t they outlying Boulder suburbs have to fund all the services they use in Boulder.If we threatened to close off our hiking trails to out-of-towners and their dogs, I bet they’d start chipping in for our libraries, shelters, rec centers, and museums.
summerof1975
3/31/2009 2:18:24 PM
Posted by BigFun on March 31, 2009 at 9:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Ha, what a classic example of “not in my backyard” politics. I wonder how many of those complaining about the bums voted Democrat in the past? The core of liberalism is bigger government, more social programs, and “helping” those in need so that they remain dependent on the government. More government dependencies means more democrat votes.
Boulder, keep voting to raise taxes on those evil rich people who actually keep this country afloat. Unfortunately you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Enjoy your liberal bed that you have made.
Liberalism is a mental disorder.
LMAO – I agree with what you wrote but I would never vote Republican.
Gardenburgers4prariedogs
3/31/2009 2:26:51 PM
Titto is as Titto does DOC – I too have witnessed his antics at the B.C.J – He is unique !
Gardenburgers4prariedogs
3/31/2009 2:32:04 PM
I bet if a bunch of drunk CU students were being obnoxious in the library and public parks it would be a whole different type of story.
I love to take my kids to the library to check out books, but I’ve had to cut several trips short because of drunk, obnoxious vagrants. WTF? Why did we build a homeless shelter?
pm
3/31/2009 2:34:13 PM
Soccer moms deserve an apology from Mr. Budd, boulderrules, assuming his quote is accurate.
Old Doc is acquainted with the man, having observed him at Carriage House during the month or two he worked there at the front desk. Mr. Budd has a big chip on his shoulder about the police and he openly voices it, and a few homeless people still want to believe that they can get an RTD Eco Pass from the city for a few hours spent picking up their own litter from along Boulder Creek Path (big story in DC).
Brinkley isn’t the only charlatan in Boulder, CO.
Have you heard the one about putting homeless people in the National Guard Armory, boulderrules? Oops, Brinkley just let the cat out of the bag . . . Well, let Mr. Budd explain that one, too.
It’s tough enough getting a few churches here in Boulder to take a risk in becoming part of an emergency warming center group, to handle the overflow from the homeless shelter on nights when it’s very cold. Even tougher when Mr. Budd voices his opinion that the churches should take in homeless people who are under the influence, and possibly a danger to themselves or others.
He ain’t got a clue beyond his life on the streets, and that’s Brinkley’s opinion based on his years of experience in several cities living and working with homeless people.
Doc_Brinkley
3/31/2009 2:42:55 PM
These homeless people really need to concentrate on getting their lives in order.Maybe we should send them all to a Concentration Camp.
Sea_Bass
3/31/2009 2:57:42 PM
People, you need to understand that many of the worst homeless people have been 86ed from the shelter and the day center for good reason.
Homeless shelters are not detox centers, not psychiatric facilities, and not jails — we have each of those here and it’s time that the authorities started using them for those miscreants who can’t or won’t behave in a civilized manner.
Better yet, just put ’em on a bus back to Denver!
Doc_Brinkley
3/31/2009 3:09:28 PM
“Homeless shelters are not detox centers, not psychiatric facilities, and not jails”
Absolutely right. Either is the public library.
pm
3/31/2009 3:14:30 PM
That explains the smell…
disco_stu
3/31/2009 3:46:56 PM
or in this case, on the bus back to Mexico.
snarlpup
3/31/2009 3:55:20 PM
Take a hint from South Park – get a modified school bus blasting this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6Wk8XyPQ8o
They give change in Californinanah!ROTFL
tstephens1981
3/31/2009 3:55:22 PM
Doc_Brinkley –
Are you a snitch?Do you know what happens to snitches?
anarchist68
3/31/2009 4:49:11 PM
Ah, got the solution…
What do homeless drunk obnoxious criminal beggars hate worse than a job? Street preachers!
The city should encourage all the Christian orgs in town to post their most obnoxious, er, I mean persistent, conversion preachers in the parks, outside the library, along the creek path, etc. on shifts for 24-hours a day.
The preachers will either convert and reform ’em, or bug the cr@p out of ’em until they leave town.
What do ya think doc?
Donkey__Hotay
3/31/2009 5:14:29 PM
The chickens are roosting. The problems at the library are really quite simple to resolve.We have laws regarding issues such as public intoxication as well as public health issues. What we lack here is the political will and or willingness to enforce them. The urban campers that descend upon Boulder do so for obvious and simple reasons. Good free living, and little in the way of enforcement of regulations that are meant to inhibit this sort of behavior, and the problems associated with such behavior. A good 6 months of stringent enforcement would eliminate the welcome urban camper message that is pervasive at the moment. If you are drunk in a public place, you should be arrested, processed, prosecuted,fined, and or jailed in accordance with the law. If you are soaked in urine and or feces, and creating a threat to the health and wellbeing of others in a public place, you should be dealt with in a like and kind manner in accordance with public health regulations. If you are behaving in a disruptive manner in a publicly funded facility, off with your head as well.Now lets get a call in campaign going down at the Boulder dough-nut club, each and every time the problem rears it’s ugly head. That would be the Boulder police department for those not up to speed with the present status of the department.We need to insist that an immediate response be made.It is only a matter of time before someone is hurt or worse.Get off your fat arses, and clean this mess up Boulder PD. This is part of your job. We also need a write in campaign to the judges that hear these cases, and insist on harsh prosecution. I think that although a bit expensive at first, you will all be amazed at the positive result on the basic landscape.If we insist on it we can make Boulder a little less welcoming to the worst of these miscreants.
biker_joe
3/31/2009 5:32:50 PM
“If you are drunk in a public place, you should be arrested, processed, prosecuted,fined, and or jailed in accordance with the law.”
____________________________
So what about Pearl st at night hundreds of drunk people are out in public or the hill?
Just give random breathalyzers? yeah that would be constitutional.
Or just target poor people that look homeless? That would also be constitutional.
—
“If you are soaked in urine and or feces”
______________________________
I actually heard of a library being sued for a large amount of money because they threw someone out because they smelled.
You can’t prove smell in court and it turn into discrimination.
I’m not sticking up for smelly scumbags that make downtown a less attractive place I am just saying it is a complex problem that is not that simple to deal with.
sidd
3/31/2009 6:27:30 PM
I agree Sidd, it is not simple to deal with, and the Pearl St. Mall is a totally different environment from the Library. when the women in our town feel that they are not safe, and there children are at some degree of risk, I think that public action is called for. If a person is in or around the library, and obviously acting intoxicated, a police officer should be dispatched to investigate and deal appropriately with the issue at hand.Their behavior is probable cause for a breathalyze. If a person is covered in their excretions, and possibly spreading some very bad diseases, the presence of those fluids are probable cause for further investigation. Remember that when they sit in the chairs used by the general public at the library, the spread of diseases are a real possibility.It isn’t SO much to ask that a police office be dispatched to deal with the issue appropriately. Consider the possibilities of a young unsuspecting child climbing onto a chair with some of those fluids present. Many virulent diseases are spread through feces, and urine. The library, and Pearl St Mall are nothing like one another. Lets deal with the library here. BTW, persons exhibiting drunken behavior are regularly arrested and prosecuted even when it happens on the Pearl St. Mall.The difference is weather or not the municipality can hope to exact a fine that is setting the agenda, and not what is best for safeguarding the community at large.As far as law suits are concerned, just wait until one of the untrained rent a cops is forced to do something he’s not really trained, or sanctioned to do.
biker_joe
3/31/2009 7:16:40 PM
OH Sidd I forgot to mention. If you would reread my first post. I commented that we need to call for police response when we see these crime occur. So,as you can see no indiscriminate hassling of people just because they look homeless is called for. It is against the law to be drunk in public. If you are reported and found to be so,then you are subject to the existing law.Since there is no constitutional right to violate these laws, no violation of anyones constitutional rights are at issue.
biker_joe
3/31/2009 7:30:33 PM
I do agree “Pearl St. Mall is a totally different environment”. It does make me sad because the library is supposed to be a family environment and a place for kids not a alley way for vagrant alcoholics to hangout.
I do think people on here are being a little hard on the library staff. They have had to deal with this situation for year and I have noticed they have blocked off and made a decent environment for the kid section the keep the vagrant out of the kids bathroom and area.
But it is a difficult situation and the staff has done a good job dealing with it so far IMO.
sidd
3/31/2009 7:48:46 PM
Sidd it sounds like you are intimately aware of the situation, perhaps even directly affected, IE: a staffer. I make no judgment regarding the staff of the library. What makes me angry is the victim hood that most adopt when confronted with a situation like this. I think that the lashing out at the staff is directly related to this adoption of a victim mentality. We pay a perfectly adequate police department, and fund a perfectly adequate jail. Let’s use them, and stop being victims. Just a little public pressure will make this problem a squeaky wheel that our police department can not ignore. The real violation of rights here is that of the tax paying public being run out of their library. It is a sort of turf war. We need to use the resources at our disposal to send these folks packing. they will never be anything but homeless if we act as their codependent partners.Thank you for the intelligent discourse of your thoughtful response to my post.
biker_joe
3/31/2009 8:07:45 PM
Maybe the city could contract with Banjo Billy to bus these guys to the Louisville and Lafayette libraries.
abadger
3/31/2009 8:39:16 PM
“If lynn prefers the library to be a homeless shelter rather than a place for people to engage in culture in a safe and clean environment, maybe she could stop asking the taxpayers for money to support the library and start asking for funds for the homeless instead.”
Right On laughinghard
Can we please have a normal library again?
BoulderConfidential
3/31/2009 9:42:00 PM
“Eben G. Fine has become a sanctified place for soccer moms,” Budd said. “Women with kids — they can’t hang out down in Central Park because of the homeless people, so they go up there… It’s family time up there during the day, so we stay the hell away.”
—–
Newsflash: soccer moms pay taxes, you lazy bum.You should stay the “hell” away from the playground.And I wish you would stay the “hell” away from the library, too.Get a life.
ThatCertainWoman
3/30/2009 9:17:54 PM
If there is an increase in homeless people, this speaks to a social need in the community.Instead of suggesting dedicated, caring professionals like Lynn be fired, or we that throw the “bums” out, therefore descriminating and playing favorites with a public resource, maybe we should be working on how we can get more mental health care, job training, police, and human services resources in our community. Homeless people at the library are a symptom of a problem, not the problem itself.
Libraries are one of the few American institutions that are truly open equally to all. Don’t be so quick to throw that away.
michelleandbean@hotmail.com
4/1/2009 8:49:51 AM
Old Doc has seen the light! Effective today, Brinkley is working as a spiritual counselor for Denver Recue Mission’s outreach to the unwashed heathens here in Boulder.
We will be baptizing these lost souls in Boulder Creek next to the Main Library, and Brinkley is looking forward to holding each of them under water for a very long time . . . Those who survive, er, choose to further commit themselves to godly ways will be led back to Denver on May 1st, when Boulder Shelter ends its emergency overnight accommodations for the season.
Praise the Lord and keep those donations coming to Jesus Saves in Denver!
Doc_Brinkley
4/1/2009 10:59:30 AM
anarchist68 on March 31 at 4:49 p.m. — Old Doc has been to Big Boy’s Jail a.k.a. Missouri DOC and never had a problem.
But if there’s a reward for turning in your silly a**, Brinkley will gladly do it.
Doc_Brinkley
4/1/2009 11:05:25 AM
Interesting this turned up in the NY Times today.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/us/02library.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp
The staff in this article seem to have a much better grip on the situation-realizing that it’s not normal use of a library. Odd that people are turning up at libraries now saying they can’t read and making librarians fill out their job applications. What sort of job can you do if you can’t read anything? If they couldn’t read they should have been there years ago! Frightening to hear about stabbings at many libraries. I guess if we have one in Boulder we can blame Lynn for welcoming the violence and drug and alcohol use into what was supposed to be a place to read.
laughinghard
4/1/2009 10:01:21 PM
Posted by laughinghard on April 1, 2009 at 10:01 p.m.
“If they couldn’t read they should have been there years ago!”
Why? Did it used to be fashionable for those who can’t read to hang out in libraries? Or, are you suggesting that you taught yourself how to read in a public library? Kudos. Take that, NCLB.
“What sort of job can you do if you can’t read anything?”
Good question. I imagine that its “larger picture” significance is lost on a self-taught reader, though.
your_destination_town
4/2/2009 1:02:12 AM
