Homeless in Mass. Sue Over Library Policy

Robert Bombard scans the bookshelves at the Worcester Public Library in Worcester, Mass., July 25, 2006. When the library imposed a rule that let shelter residents check out no more than two items at a time, they probably didn't have someone like Bombard in mind. Bombard, who was living in a transitional housing facility and volunteering at the library last summer after finishing a two-year jail sentence, was always a voracious reader. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) (Charles Krupa - AP)

Local advocates for the homeless say they're hopeful the Worcester library will change its policy so the case won't have to be hashed out in court.

"Our biggest concern is whether some of the city's policies are linked in a deliberate way against the homeless," said Grace Carmark, executive director of the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance, which runs a transitional housing facility for homeless families and is one of the plaintiffs in the library lawsuit.

Many of the city's social woes aren't hidden. On any given day, homeless people and drug users spend hours hanging around at a shelter not far from downtown.

Home to several colleges, including Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester has plans to redevelop its downtown and bolster its economy by attracting biomedical and bioengineering businesses.

In an effort to address some of the city's problems, Mayor Timothy Murray appointed a task force to review the city's social services. The group released a report last year urging the providers to voluntarily notify officials and neighbors before starting a new program in a residential neighborhood.

But some of the social service providers say that policy is unfair _ and possibly illegal _ because it gives residents a chance to rally for keeping the facilities out of their neighborhoods.

Philip Mangano, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, said Worcester is making strides to combat its homeless problem, but the library's borrowing policy shows how much the city needs to create a better dialogue around homeless issues.

"The homeless use libraries as sanctuaries. They spend time there and they want to read and borrow books like anyone else," he said. "The appropriate way to respond to homelessness and libraries is to have policies that are based on individual people, not an entire subpopulation."