Some say it's just a crackdown on vagrants, but county officials say the rules and a new guard are for everyone's safety.
By DONG-PHUONG NGUYEN
Published November 24, 2003
[Times photo: Chris Zuppa]
"If I don't work for the temp service, I come here," Wayne Edwards, a homeless man, said of John F. Germany Library. He doesn't agree with the library's bin to restrict the size of patrons' personal belongings.
TAMPA - Every day for two years, Cowboy Adams has been hanging out at the John F. Germany Library downtown.
He reads and plays games on the computers. He takes cigarette breaks outside.
It's an escape from the cold, hard streets he calls home.
But lately, things have become more stressful at the library. Changes are being made, one "no loitering" sign at a time.
Stern notices have been posted around the building to ward off loiterers. Just inside the automatic entrance door, a metal bin restricts anyone from bringing in anything larger than a small carry-on bag. Next to the bin are leaflets listing rules of conduct, such as a ban on bathing, shaving or washing clothes in the restrooms. And two Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies are keeping an eye on visitors.
"The signs, the rules, the cops ... it's to get rid of vagrants like me," said Adams, 62. "They don't like the homeless hanging around."
Rules against skateboarding or leaving children unattended have been staples at the downtown library for years.
But advocates for the homeless say this crackdown is part of the mayor's attempt to clean up the streets in the heart of the city.
"What's happening at the library is indicative of what's going on downtown," said Kristin Taylor, head of T.H.O.R.N. ministries (Thankfully Helping Others' Real Needs), which feeds the homeless. "It's disheartening to me."
The public library on Ashley Drive has long been a popular spot for the homeless.
When it gets hot, rainy or cold, the library is one of the only public buildings where they can take refuge.
They can plop down at desks and read books or sit down at computers to play games. It passes the time and doesn't cost a thing.
For years, the city has struggled to deal with the homeless.
Taylor said some administrations were more compassionate. They didn't interfere when she set up food lines around town to reach out to the city's roughly 6,000 homeless.
She thinks Mayor Pam Iorio wants them out.
"(The homeless) are not dollar values to the city," Taylor said. "Right now, everyone's singing the blues because the (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) are losing. That means they're losing money. It's barbaric. I don't understand it."
Technically speaking, the library is not the mayor's problem.
Although located in downtown Tampa, the library is controlled by the county.
"There's no validity (to the accusations)," Iorio said. "We're working very hard to find some meaningful, long-term solutions (to homelessness)."
Iorio said she has appointed a staff member to the issue. And she plans to propose that a countywide task force be formed because it's a countywide problem.
Joe Stines, director of libraries for Hillsborough County, has been serving as interim assistant county administrator for human services since October.
He said that none of the changes are new and that the long-standing rules apply to everyone.
In fact, during staff meetings, employees are told not to use the term "homeless," Stines said.
"We don't take the approach that they're homeless," he said. "We have people that may have issues about cleanliness or health issues, people who obviously have issues where they're not thinking clearly, rationally or whatever.
"We try our best not to label people. Most of our staff are good people. No one wants to be mean to anyone. We don't need flashers in the stacks. We have to have some rules and regulations to make sure the library functions as a library."
But people like Adams are convinced that they are being targeted. Adams started noticing a shift in the climate when the "no loitering" sign were erected. The warning used to be written on paper and taped to the inside window of the library's front doors. But more than a year ago, metal signs on metal posts began appearing.
And half-sheets of yellow paper outlining the library's code of conduct were placed at the front entrance. The rules include a restriction on the maximum size of personal belongings allowed in the library: 9 inches by 16 inches by 22 inches (1.8 cubic feet), slightly smaller than most airlines' restrictions.
Restrictions on the size of objects that can be brought in were imposed for safety reasons, said Marcee Challener, interim director of libraries.
"On occasion, some folks have tried to bring in very large items that protrude," she said. "It's their personal type of belongings. Huge stuff."
Stines noted that students sometimes carry bulging backpacks.
"It was recommended that we do this kind of thing in light of public safety issues and security concerns in this world we're in after 9/11," Challener said. "It doesn't have anything to do with terrorist versus homeless. It's for the safety of all."
The library also has the right to kick out customers whose body or clothing "emit odors so offensive so as to constitute a nuisance or health risk to others," according to one of the leaflets. They won't be allowed to come back until they have bathed and/or washed their clothing.
"The sad reality is, every human being needs a place to bathe and there is no place to bathe," Taylor said. "The city needs to be more compassionate. There's just a lack of heart for this situation in our city."
Challener sees it differently.
"We are a public institution," she said. "We welcome everyone to use our materials but we do want to provide a safe atmosphere for everyone. That's why we have a code of conduct. Everyone is welcome."
If they past muster with security.
About a year ago, additional funding allowed for the hiring of an additional guard, Challener said. Two patrol officers had been needed for years, given the size and layout of the building, she said.
"We wanted to do it for a long time," Challener said. "We have two buildings connected by that glass tube and four separate floors. It was too much room for one person to be able to monitor. We were glad to be able to provide extra security there during operating hours."
The extra guard was partly because of the homeless, Hillsborough sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.
"It's due to the vagrants that come will come in, hang out, use the restrooms to bathe themselves," Carter said.
The library also is moving toward installing filters on the computers. They will be able to track computer usage so users will be knocked off after a certain amount of time. That way, the staff doesn't have to make rounds and patrons don't have to wait long.
But the homeless think it's because they spend so much time on the computers, playing games such as Solitaire.
"I enjoy coming downtown, playing video games and reading," Adams said.
He whipped out a paperback: Off the Mangrove Coast, by Louis L'Amour, which he bought for 50 cents at the library's bookstore. He said he never bathes in the restrooms.
With the welcome mat all but rolled up, "I'll figure something out," he said. "I have no choice."
