By D.M.Livingston |Published| June 13 2025

Waterbury, CT- Public libraries are one of the last truly democratic spaces in America — free to enter, open to all, and rooted in the belief that knowledge should be accessible regardless of one’s income, background, or beliefs. They are a sanctuary for students, families, job-seekers, and lifelong learners. But increasingly, they are being pulled into a role they were never designed to fill: makeshift shelters for the unhoused.

On paper, it sounds humane — libraries are public spaces, and everyone has a right to use them. But in practice, this well-intentioned loophole is undermining the very mission of these institutions and putting both patrons and staff in impossible situations.

Let’s be clear: homelessness is a crisis. It demands comprehensive solutions that include housing, mental health care, substance abuse treatment, and economic opportunity. But turning public libraries into unofficial shelters isn’t a solution — it’s a systemic failure disguised as compassion.

When “Public Space” Collides with Public Purpose

Libraries were never built to be housing facilities. They are not staffed with trained social workers, security personnel, or crisis intervention specialists. They are staffed by librarians — people who trained to catalog books, host story hours, help with research, and foster curiosity, not to break up fights, respond to overdoses, or manage long-term loitering.

Yet across the country — and yes, right here in Waterbury — more and more libraries are bearing that burden. Tables are no longer quiet study areas, but makeshift beds. Children’s rooms become places of refuge, not learning. Restrooms are used for bathing instead of quick stops. And the predictable result? Parents stop bringing their kids. Teens stop studying there. Seniors no longer feel safe. The original purpose of the library is diluted, if not erased.

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Compassion Must Be Paired with Common Sense

We cannot pretend that simply allowing people to spend their days in library buildings addresses the core of the homelessness problem. It does not restore dignity. It does not solve trauma. It merely moves the issue indoors — and into a space designed for something entirely different.

What’s worse, it creates tension between vulnerable populations: the unhoused and the underserved students or elderly who also rely on the library but now feel pushed out. That’s not justice. That’s not equity. That’s displacement masked as inclusion.

Time to Draw a Line — and Demand Better

Using public libraries as de facto shelters might be legal under current public space guidelines, but legality does not equal sustainability. Municipal leaders must stop outsourcing responsibility for homelessness onto public institutions that were never built for that task.

We need to invest in real solutions: dedicated housing programs, accessible day centers, mental health services, and addiction treatment. We need to build spaces designed to help people stabilize, not quietly hide them in institutions meant for community learning.

Libraries should remain sacred spaces — for reading, for learning, for community growth. Not collateral damage in our failure to deal with poverty head-on.

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The hard truth is this: Letting libraries shoulder the weight of homelessness isn’t empathy — it’s abandonment. And it’s time we stop pretending otherwise.

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