Bethlehem Area Public Library Revises Acceptable Patron Behavior Policy

Homeless patrons prompt Bethlehem Area Public Library's behavior policy. (Lehigh Valley Express-Times, 8/7/2011)

Excerpt:  The Bethlehem Area Public Library is a place to take your kids to story hour, pick up your favorite book or search for jobs on the Internet.

As of last month, it's not a place to sleep, bathe or panhandle.

The library revised its acceptable patron behavior policy to deal with the significant influx of homeless people who were spending their days at the library, Executive Director Janet Fricker said. While most of the 26 behavior rules are general — such as no eating, smoking or talking on cell phones — others seem to be directly targeted at the homeless, including rules that prohibit bringing in sleeping bags or having offensive bodily hygiene.

Those are the rules that particularly trouble the Rev. William Kuntze. The senior pastor at Bethlehem’s Christ Church United Church of Christ has long been an advocate for the homeless and said he doesn’t like to see them discriminated against.

Kuntze said he is particularly bothered by the rules that involve judgment calls. What constitutes offensive bodily hygiene or sleeping versus napping is subjective, he said.