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October 01 2026
© Kathryn Beecroft © Kathryn Beecroft

An interview with the author of a new book on the relationship between people experiencing homelessness and libraries. Interview by Sheryle Thomas

A new book by a senior librarian at NHS Lanarkshire, published this year by Facet Publishing, explores the importance of libraries to people experiencing homelessness, and ways libraries and their staff can support homeless visitors. Sheryle Thomas spoke to Public Libraries and Homelessness author Kavan P. Stafford. 



Why do you believe libraries are important to people experiencing homelessness?


Libraries are important to people experiencing homelessness because people experiencing homelessness are human beings and libraries are a very human service. Everybody needs entertainment, everybody needs internet access, everybody needs some company and everybody needs a place where they can feel like they are part of the community. Homeless people need that, and housed people need that too – libraries provide for all those needs. That's why they're such incredible spaces. Miraculous, in fact, when you consider that, if they did not exist and were suggested today, there would be no way on earth they would be created. 


Libraries can also help provide access to the information people need to look for housing, by hosting support services like Citizens' Advice, local authorities, social workers and others. They also, and this has become especially apparent in recent years with bitterly cold winters and very hot summers, are one of the few indoor places which allow a person to exist within them without the expectation that they pay money for the privilege. 



What are some of the key findings from your study of libraries and homeless users?


The findings from the study, which asked dozens of library staff from across the UK about their perceptions of homeless users, were absolutely fascinating and very wide-ranging. The study found that staff felt that homeless people should be welcome in their libraries but that their library services often didn't do enough to make them feel like they were. More should be done in the future to make the library a better place for homeless users, they felt. The study also found that COVID-19, in particular, had made their service less accessible for homeless library users.

As the answers to the questions were analysed, five distinct themes were found to come up again and again. These were: prejudice; policies that affected homeless users; issues with library spaces such as places to sit or places to store baggage; funding concerns; the importance of co-operation with other agencies and charities.



What are your strongest recommendations to libraries and library workers to accommodate and welcome homeless readers?


The advice I would give would be to consider carefully whether the rules and regulations of your library serve everyone in the way they should. Homeless people, yes, but everyone else too. I would advise that they ensure every rule in their library follows the SAFE system: Simple (easy for everyone, staff and library users, to understand); Accessible (easy to find; posted publicly if possible. Everyone using the library should be aware of the rules and know where they are); Functional (what do you want the rules to do? The ultimate function must be to ensure the free, equitable and easy use of the library service by everyone. Any rule which does not fulfil this purpose can be comfortably jettisoned); equitable (one rule for everyone may not work work – an obvious example would be banning all dogs, including guide dogs. The equity of policies and rules should be carefully considered when creating them and care should be taken to avoid even genuinely inadvertent discriminatory practices).

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October – November 2026 : Express yourself

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