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A review by spuriousdiphthongs
The Librarian's Guide to Homelessness: An Empathy-Driven Approach to Solving Problems, Preventing Conflict, and Serving Everyone by Ryan J. Dowd
3.0
Ok. I have a lot to say. *Deep breath* Here we go.
The Good
• This book has a lot of really good tips and tricks on problems you may encounter in regards to some patrons who are experiencing homelessness.
• It also does an excellent job of explaining how people who are experiencing homeless may view things in a different way than you (i.e. shorter time horizon, habituation to punishment, etc)
• Dowd writes in an easily accessible and casual style.
• This is a well timed book that all librarians and even most people can benefit from.
• He outlines "empathy-driven enforcement" very well.
The Eh
• There's only so many ways you can say "People experiencing homelessness are humans. Treat them as such." Which, is an important point, but man, do people need to remember that and man, does that get repetitive and sad the more you think about it.
• Sometimes Dowd's writing is almost too casual.
• The tip names are bizarre and often blend together because there's ones like "The Bill Clinton" and "The Wizard of Oz" that often have minimal connection to the actual tip they are labeling.
• The layout: he presents scenarios and walks through tips and tricks on how to deal with them by referring to past and future sections of the book, which results in a lot of flipping because there's no summary of them under the specific scenario and the names meld together.
And the Ugly
• In a section where Dowd discusses empathy-driven enforcement, he gives the example of Luke Skywalker and his choice between the Force and his lightsaber. The lightsaber was a "fire-tool" that forced people to do what he wished with the threat of violence. His use of the Force on the other hand was a "water-tool" that controlled peoples minds to still get them to do what he wanted. Dowd states that the Force is the "tool of choice" and therefore better than the lightsaber. BUT the Force still forces (That's LITERALLY what it's called) people to do what Luke Skywalker wants. It's still a tool of power and oppression that removes choice for the subject in question. It's a minor bone to pick in terms of the allegory but the bigger projection it represents makes it problematic.
Case in point:
• My MAJOR bone to pick: In the tool labeled "La Bibliotecaria," Dowd states that since many interactions between library workers and people experiencing homelessness will probably be women in the former category interacting with men in the latter category based on the nature of the fact that there are more homeless men than women and more women library workers than men. He acknowledges the fact that as a result of this, some female library workers may feel uncomfortable. He then goes on to say "So, if you are a woman, don't worry about your gender. It isn't a problem unless you make it one."
NO.
1) Let's just casually dismiss the fact that some women may be uncomfortable confronting men regardless of their housing state in general for whatever reasons (such as prior trauma, safety, etc).
and
2) EVEN IF A WOMAN FORGETS ABOUT THEIR GENDER, THE ENTIRE INTERACTION IS STILL GENDERED. The person with whom the woman is engaging will STILL interact with that woman in a way that is customized to their gender regardless of awareness. Gender is not something you can dismiss or wash out of ANY interaction. (See also: people who claim they don't see race, they see people).
Ok, just writing the above just made me angry. Probably a little more angry than normal due to the recent news cycle, but ugh, these types of microaggressions add up.
---
So here's my overall take: a good starter book with some excellent points and tips but also contains some problematic stuff. I would've liked to see more points and information on people experiencing the homeless who are people of color, LGBTQIA+, and of differing abilities (not just in the potentially experiencing a mental health crisis).
Normally a book that annoyed me this much would get two stars, but I'm leaving it at three because it is a topic that is important and should be talked about and trained around much more.
I'm going to go home and cuddle a cat now.
The Good
• This book has a lot of really good tips and tricks on problems you may encounter in regards to some patrons who are experiencing homelessness.
• It also does an excellent job of explaining how people who are experiencing homeless may view things in a different way than you (i.e. shorter time horizon, habituation to punishment, etc)
• Dowd writes in an easily accessible and casual style.
• This is a well timed book that all librarians and even most people can benefit from.
• He outlines "empathy-driven enforcement" very well.
The Eh
• There's only so many ways you can say "People experiencing homelessness are humans. Treat them as such." Which, is an important point, but man, do people need to remember that and man, does that get repetitive and sad the more you think about it.
• Sometimes Dowd's writing is almost too casual.
• The tip names are bizarre and often blend together because there's ones like "The Bill Clinton" and "The Wizard of Oz" that often have minimal connection to the actual tip they are labeling.
• The layout: he presents scenarios and walks through tips and tricks on how to deal with them by referring to past and future sections of the book, which results in a lot of flipping because there's no summary of them under the specific scenario and the names meld together.
And the Ugly
• In a section where Dowd discusses empathy-driven enforcement, he gives the example of Luke Skywalker and his choice between the Force and his lightsaber. The lightsaber was a "fire-tool" that forced people to do what he wished with the threat of violence. His use of the Force on the other hand was a "water-tool" that controlled peoples minds to still get them to do what he wanted. Dowd states that the Force is the "tool of choice" and therefore better than the lightsaber. BUT the Force still forces (That's LITERALLY what it's called) people to do what Luke Skywalker wants. It's still a tool of power and oppression that removes choice for the subject in question. It's a minor bone to pick in terms of the allegory but the bigger projection it represents makes it problematic.
Case in point:
• My MAJOR bone to pick: In the tool labeled "La Bibliotecaria," Dowd states that since many interactions between library workers and people experiencing homelessness will probably be women in the former category interacting with men in the latter category based on the nature of the fact that there are more homeless men than women and more women library workers than men. He acknowledges the fact that as a result of this, some female library workers may feel uncomfortable. He then goes on to say "So, if you are a woman, don't worry about your gender. It isn't a problem unless you make it one."
NO.
1) Let's just casually dismiss the fact that some women may be uncomfortable confronting men regardless of their housing state in general for whatever reasons (such as prior trauma, safety, etc).
and
2) EVEN IF A WOMAN FORGETS ABOUT THEIR GENDER, THE ENTIRE INTERACTION IS STILL GENDERED. The person with whom the woman is engaging will STILL interact with that woman in a way that is customized to their gender regardless of awareness. Gender is not something you can dismiss or wash out of ANY interaction. (See also: people who claim they don't see race, they see people).
Ok, just writing the above just made me angry. Probably a little more angry than normal due to the recent news cycle, but ugh, these types of microaggressions add up.
---
So here's my overall take: a good starter book with some excellent points and tips but also contains some problematic stuff. I would've liked to see more points and information on people experiencing the homeless who are people of color, LGBTQIA+, and of differing abilities (not just in the potentially experiencing a mental health crisis).
Normally a book that annoyed me this much would get two stars, but I'm leaving it at three because it is a topic that is important and should be talked about and trained around much more.
I'm going to go home and cuddle a cat now.