In their ludicrous campaign, worthy of Don Quixote, to turn downtown Long Beach into another Old Town Pasadena, Long Beach "authorites" are trying to drive the homeless out of city hall and the central branch of the Long Beach library at Ocean and Pacific. The scam they are attempting, in an effort worthy of their limited intellects, is to require the homeless to leave any bags, even small plastic bags, outiside City Hall or in the lobby of the library. Needless to say, the homeless often find all their worldly possessions gone when they leave these buildings. Which is exactly the point of the campaign, of course. The bureaucrats hope that this tactic will intimidate the homelsss from entering in the first place. Not surprisingly, people in business suits are allowed to bring in bags of any size or description, and city employees are warned not to hastle the suits in any way. Certainly this is a tactic right out of the late 19th century, when class discrimination was accepted as normal and just. And is is not surprising, in the least, since the 19th century is where Long Beach city administrators get most of their ideas in the first place.
Long Beach library workers have informed me that security guards in the library as well as library clerks at the service desk in front have been told to hassle the homeless even if they have a tiny plastic bag in one hand, but to let yuppies with bags so heavy they must be trundled in on wheels in the building with no problem. This is all part of an effort to lure yuppies and the "business community" into the library, with the homeless seen as a hinderance that might spoil the mystique of lovely downtown Long Beach for the suits.
Ironically, most of the yuppies they are attempting to lure are not even city residents; when they are through making money at the end of the day they head back to their homes in Malibu, Palos Verdes Estates or southern Orange County.
If this situation angers you as much as it angers me, get in touch with the Long Beach City Manager, Jerry Miller, and ask him what he has to say in defense of the city's class discrimination policy. His email address is citymanager@longbeach. gov.; don't let it stop you if you are not a Long Beach resident - the yuppies whose behinds the city is kissing are not residents either.

As a librarian, I can tell you that this policy is NOT designed to persecute the homeless. It's to protect the library staff. I'm sure that you are not aware of this, but there have been instances in the last twenty years in California of librarians being shot to death by someone who was either homeless or a transient. So, I'm sure that you don't give a shit, but I am ALWAYS worried about what exactly is in those bags that the homeless carry. It might just be a gun. Many homeless people are mentally ill. Is that their fault? No. But it sure isn't ours. Back in the 1980's, Los Angeles County stopped a good deal of funding in mental health services. Many mental health facilities were closed. And the number of homeless who began to appear in public libraries increased dramatically. I witnessed this on a daily basis starting back in the 80's. Libraries are not what they used to be. They are full of scary gang bangers, street people, drunks and unattended kids. I live it every day, and unlike a cop, I don't get to carry a gun in case somebody loses it. I have a master's degree in library science, but sometimes I'm afraid that I will be killed because of my job. Isn't that fucked up? I think so too. So, instead of attacking the librarians for not giving the homeless free access to a public institution, go spend the day in a major city library. Better yet, go work in one. And when that terribly frightening and explosively angry homeless person with a big bag approaches you and starts yelling about why the Mormon church is after him (or whatever the torment of the day is), I'm sure that you will be very understanding and supportive of his right to be there. You'd be the first one to call the cops. Well guess what, the cops don't always give a shit about someone who is merely "scary." So, you get to sit at the reference desk all day praying that that homeless man sitting two tables away from you and who is waging a private war in his head doesn't decide to focus all his fucked-up energy at you. I've had it happen many times, and it always scares the shit out of me. So, free access for homeless people? Who gives a shit.