Public Libraries and People Experiencing Homelessness: The Experiences and Attitudes of Library Users

Public libraries serve as critical social infrastructure, yet the dynamics of interactions between diverse user groups within these spaces remain underexplored. Through a mixed-methods survey conducted across six Australian public libraries, representing urban, regional, and remote settings, this study investigates the attitudes and experiences of public library users toward sharing library spaces with people experiencing homelessness. The study reveals a range of attitudes, with supportive perspectives predominating. Some user concerns are also identified regarding personal safety in and around the library and the sharing of library spaces with people with limited opportunities for maintaining personal hygiene. It also highlights an interesting discrepancy between staff concerns explored in previous research and user experiences regarding the impact of sharing library spaces with people experiencing homelessness. Another discrepancy explored relates to library worker and library user perceptions of the social role of public libraries.