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The idea for this website originated with an assignment for a class in Foundations of Librarianship with Dr. Eino Sierpe, Associate Professor in the MLS Program at Southern Connecticut State University. In his lecture for the Social Context assignment, Dr. Sierpe encouraged us toward "social activism in librarianship". In the past I had worked in the field of mental health, knew many of the barriers people with mental illness faced, and decided to focus my social context project on library services to this population.
In researching the topic, I was shocked by the stereotyping in much of the literature that identified patrons with mental illness as "problem patrons". Some of the information even covered when to call the police and how to be a good witness (I guess if you have to testify in court against a patron). In one article a librarian talked about being afraid of these patrons and even told how to keep a sense of humor as things they say can be funny. I found much of it to be demeaning, patronizing, and offensive.
In a majority of the literature, there was interchangeable use of the terms "problem patrons", "mentally ill", and "homeless". Much of what was written dealt with the many homeless that have been identified as problematic, especially in urban libraries. Homelessness has become a serious issue, especially in urban areas, but in reality, their plight cannot be entirely explained by mental illness. The National Coalition for the Homeless identify an average of 16% of homeless adults have a persistent serious mental illness (2008). Drug and alcohol abuse in addition to homelessness affect at least 50% of the homeless with a mental illness.
What I did not see in most of the literature was a teasing apart of this group from the population who had achieved relative stability and were not currently in crisis. This does a tremendous disservice to the 80-90% of persons with mental illness who follow treatment plans and achieve stability.
This website does not attempt to address the issues surrounding homeless patrons and persons with mental illness who are currently in crisis. This site attempts to address the misconceptions and stigma that affect the other 80 - 90 % who live daily with mental illness. There are many ways libraries can move from a "problem patron" model to a disability model when dealing with patrons with mental illness. It is my intention that by using the information available on this website, librarians and information specialists will begin to question their personal and professional views toward this population and evaluate how it affects the services they provide.
Nancy Florio
ILS503 S72
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