I moved out of SF during the pandemic but before that the city had homeless and mentally ill people and there was no security check at the library, and it was full of books.
As an active library user w a 4 year old and 1 year old going to the bathroom at the sf library wasn’t a good situation- so for many folks (disabled, those w young children) the library was not available to them.
It was my experience at a bathroom on the SF main public library that led me to post my comment about it. It was beyond disgusting. There was literal shit smeared all over a stall, and bathroom had essentially been commandeered by mentally ill people living there.
I contrast that with the library in Austin. Obviously, as a free, warm, comfortable space, there are tons of homeless people there. But, unlike in SF, the Austin library doesn't let them trash the place - the homeless there are just using the library like everyone else. There is a strict no sleeping/lying rule (which I've seen enforced) which prevents anyone from basically taking over a section of the library. The bathrooms have always been immaculate whenever I've used them.
IMO the Austin library's policy toward the homeless shows how you can be respectful and welcoming to all while still requiring everyone who enters to respect the building.
