Reston Library

[Anonymous]

Thanks for starting this thread. I've also noticed a lot of homeless/suspicious men there. I didn't know there was a homeless shelter next door! I thought those men might be drug dealers, I didn't know about the shelter. I've pointed them out to my kids, if you see someone like that, stay away.

It is bad there. They loiter out in the front or to the side, under the trees or in front of the bike rack. I've seen trash bags under a tree nearby. I've seen them hanging out in the parking lot.

I'm concerned more for the parents that don't know and just drop their kids off there thinking it's fine.

Op, you can do something about it. There is a Fairfax county employee building across the street! Certainly they've seen it. Take your complaints and do something about it. Join a group or start one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for starting this thread. I've also noticed a lot of homeless/suspicious men there. I didn't know there was a homeless shelter next door! I thought those men might be drug dealers, I didn't know about the shelter. I've pointed them out to my kids, if you see someone like that, stay away.

It is bad there. They loiter out in the front or to the side, under the trees or in front of the bike rack. I've seen trash bags under a tree nearby. I've seen them hanging out in the parking lot.

I'm concerned more for the parents that don't know and just drop their kids off there thinking it's fine.

Op, you can do something about it. There is a Fairfax county employee building across the street! Certainly they've seen it. Take your complaints and do something about it. Join a group or start one.

OP here, and you're welcome.

I just drove by there this morning, and there was a cop standing in the parking lot, on his phone. Lord knows what the disruption is today. And you're right...I am going to do some research to see if there's a group battling this issue, and I will definitely post my findings. It seems like the County is ramming this through over the objection of residents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for starting this thread. I've also noticed a lot of homeless/suspicious men there. I didn't know there was a homeless shelter next door! I thought those men might be drug dealers, I didn't know about the shelter. I've pointed them out to my kids, if you see someone like that, stay away.

It is bad there. They loiter out in the front or to the side, under the trees or in front of the bike rack. I've seen trash bags under a tree nearby. I've seen them hanging out in the parking lot.

I'm concerned more for the parents that don't know and just drop their kids off there thinking it's fine.

Op, you can do something about it. There is a Fairfax county employee building across the street! Certainly they've seen it. Take your complaints and do something about it. Join a group or start one.

OP here, and you're welcome.

I just drove by there this morning, and there was a cop standing in the parking lot, on his phone. Lord knows what the disruption is today. And you're right...I am going to do some research to see if there's a group battling this issue, and I will definitely post my findings. It seems like the County is ramming this through over the objection of residents.

P.S. At the minimum, and based on what you said, I'd like to start an awareness campaign to alert parents to the situation. (Of course, the liberals are going to hate me.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what do you propose they do that results in the outcome of a functioning and pleasant library space AND serves a growing homeless population effectively and in a humanizing way?

You speak a lot about getting them out of the library, which I get, but you say nothing of the needs the homeless have and that those needs should be met in a compassionate way. I'm interested to hear your solution or desired outcome(s) before I call you a heartless B. And I don't say that because of your complaints - I get them and I agree. I say it because of the way you complain and how it's sounding.

-- Dirty Liberal who found my way to this thread and also grew up in Reston and has family members in those million dollar houses who use the library without complaint

I'm a DP but you're being unfair to the OP. Typical 'liberal limousine elite post'. Do your relatives who live in those million dollar houses actually use the library? I find that what happens is a lot of those wealthier families slip the library. They buy books instead for their kids and themselves. Easier to order with a click off of Amazon than scour the shelves. So support for the library goes down.

Personally I LOVE libraries. And my solidly middle class family cannot afford to buy every single book the kids want to read.

So while this issue may not affect your rich family members in their million dollar houses, it certainly does impact the lives of middle class families who moved there for a safe place to raise their kids.

I agree with the dirty liberal....and I am solidly middle class and my dh who grew up in South Reston, and very middle class, would disagree with you. We have toddlers and actually have used the library. I don't get eeked out by homeless people thoigh and I don't want my kids to grow up thinking that it is okay to push homeless people out of public spaces because they are an inconvenience rather than providing actually services for them.

That's great, PP. Get back to us when your toddlers are teenagers and get harassed by these men. I guess you don't have any compassion for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what do you propose they do that results in the outcome of a functioning and pleasant library space AND serves a growing homeless population effectively and in a humanizing way?

You speak a lot about getting them out of the library, which I get, but you say nothing of the needs the homeless have and that those needs should be met in a compassionate way. I'm interested to hear your solution or desired outcome(s) before I call you a heartless B. And I don't say that because of your complaints - I get them and I agree. I say it because of the way you complain and how it's sounding.

-- Dirty Liberal who found my way to this thread and also grew up in Reston and has family members in those million dollar houses who use the library without complaint

I'm a DP but you're being unfair to the OP. Typical 'liberal limousine elite post'. Do your relatives who live in those million dollar houses actually use the library? I find that what happens is a lot of those wealthier families slip the library. They buy books instead for their kids and themselves. Easier to order with a click off of Amazon than scour the shelves. So support for the library goes down.

Personally I LOVE libraries. And my solidly middle class family cannot afford to buy every single book the kids want to read.

So while this issue may not affect your rich family members in their million dollar houses, it certainly does impact the lives of middle class families who moved there for a safe place to raise their kids.

I agree with the dirty liberal....and I am solidly middle class and my dh who grew up in South Reston, and very middle class, would disagree with you. We have toddlers and actually have used the library. I don't get eeked out by homeless people thoigh and I don't want my kids to grow up thinking that it is okay to push homeless people out of public spaces because they are an inconvenience rather than providing actually services for them.

OP. Well, I see the liberals have found my post.

To the "dirty liberal" upthread, I have not said to get rid of the homeless shelter. But I am giving priority to the innocent children, who should have a clean, safe environment in which to study (and which their parents pay for). My solution is to relocate the homeless shelter at least six blocks from the library, easy enough to do as they are redeveloping that whole area. And since you are questioning my compassion for the homeless, where is your compassion for the pre-teen girls who are ogled and whistled at by these men as they walk into the library?

And to the second PP, how does "pushing them out of the library" equate to not providing services to them? We ARE providing services to them, in the form of the homeless shelter adjacent to the library, with beds, foods, and counseling. Would you be OK if we built it next to your house? I bet not.

BTW, I donate to that shelter. They don't take clothes, but I have given all sorts of household items. (And yes, I walk into the building. I'm not eked out by homeless people. I just don't want them loitering in the library all day, hogging the computers, and makIng the bathroom worse than the one in Penn Station).

+1,000,000
OP, these liberals who defend the rights of the homeless at ALL cost, have no sense whatsoever. I agree that the shelter provides all of these services to them - 24/7 - yet still they camp out at the library during the day. Luckily, that library is right across the street from the police station and I almost always see patrol cars on duty at the library. Guess we're not the only ones complaining about the safety of our kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why don't all the computers have 30 minute daily limits?

An issue at my library is retired, older men who monopolize the internet for 5-6 hours a day. They're really grumpy and they spread out. I just don't think computer and internet should be the focus of libraries.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some practical things Fairfax could do to help with this issue is (1) increase the janitorial staff and clean the bathrooms more frequently throughout the day; (2) organize the kids areas into clearly defined separate spaces that don't comingle with the adult areas--computers in those areas should only have kid stuff on them; (3) have paid security guards stationed in the library.

Or they could simply move the shelter far away from the library, which would be easy enough considering a planned redevelopment of the area is happening soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what do you propose they do that results in the outcome of a functioning and pleasant library space AND serves a growing homeless population effectively and in a humanizing way?

You speak a lot about getting them out of the library, which I get, but you say nothing of the needs the homeless have and that those needs should be met in a compassionate way. I'm interested to hear your solution or desired outcome(s) before I call you a heartless B. And I don't say that because of your complaints - I get them and I agree. I say it because of the way you complain and how it's sounding.

-- Dirty Liberal who found my way to this thread and also grew up in Reston and has family members in those million dollar houses who use the library without complaint

I'm a DP but you're being unfair to the OP. Typical 'liberal limousine elite post'. Do your relatives who live in those million dollar houses actually use the library? I find that what happens is a lot of those wealthier families slip the library. They buy books instead for their kids and themselves. Easier to order with a click off of Amazon than scour the shelves. So support for the library goes down.

Personally I LOVE libraries. And my solidly middle class family cannot afford to buy every single book the kids want to read.

So while this issue may not affect your rich family members in their million dollar houses, it certainly does impact the lives of middle class families who moved there for a safe place to raise their kids.

Restonite NP here. Look, the homeless are not using the library to meet their library related needs. They are sleeping there, watching internet there, hanging out and smoking out front, and also sleeping rough round the sides and back. While the earlier PP is accusing everybody of special meanness in proposing to deny this one group doing what they prefer to do at the library, while this one group makes the library an unattractive destination for everybody else who is interested in using the library for its purpose.

I still use the library, but disruptions are not uncommon there and the police have been there several times when I have been there. Last month a mentally ill woman was having a series of loud outbursts and the librarians looked harassed, powerless, and discouraged. Later I read the police had been called to the library that day for a separate incident, unrelated to what was going on when I was there. It must have been a long day for the librarians. I get leered at on a regular basis going in and out, and dropping off returns when the library is closed sometimes feels rather more dangerous than a mid-day activity in RTC really ought to be.

Really, direct daily intervention on intractable social pathology - this isn't what librarians are trained to do.

I'm following the redevelopment plans and don't think there is much hope of change here. They are going to keep the library adjacent to the homeless shelter, with both being larger and more luxurious.

Great Falls library is really nice.

Couldn't agree more, with your entire post. I'll add that one of the homeless men came up to me outside the library (while I was with my daughter) and begged me to give him cash in exchange for a Wendy's gift card. Gee, I wonder what he needed that cash for.

It's political correctness run amok and it disgusts and infuriates me, considering the taxes are paid by county residents who want to actually use the library for its intended purpose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what do you propose they do that results in the outcome of a functioning and pleasant library space AND serves a growing homeless population effectively and in a humanizing way?

You speak a lot about getting them out of the library, which I get, but you say nothing of the needs the homeless have and that those needs should be met in a compassionate way. I'm interested to hear your solution or desired outcome(s) before I call you a heartless B. And I don't say that because of your complaints - I get them and I agree. I say it because of the way you complain and how it's sounding.

-- Dirty Liberal who found my way to this thread and also grew up in Reston and has family members in those million dollar houses who use the library without complaint

Oh BS. I know many people who have nice homes in Reston, Herndon, etc and only people like you expect the local public library to become another wing of aa homeless shelter. That is what it has become. Many who love in Reston now go to other libraries. Humanizing the library for the homeless population? It is first and foremost a library. I'm a liberal and expect my tax dollars to fund a public library NOT a lounge for the homeless shelter. And WTF is Fairfax County doing putting homeless families in with that crew?

Reston is a large library-a regional not a local. Sounds like the friends of library organizations are fundraising for a counterproductive county facility. Many don't use it anymore. And the county wants the money. http://annandaleva.blogspot.com/2017/06/library-volunteers-oppose-money-grab-by.html

Who can we contact to voice our anger and concerns? I can't fathom the fact that they're planning on actually enlarging the shelter, while keeping the location the same. What complete morons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what do you propose they do that results in the outcome of a functioning and pleasant library space AND serves a growing homeless population effectively and in a humanizing way?

You speak a lot about getting them out of the library, which I get, but you say nothing of the needs the homeless have and that those needs should be met in a compassionate way. I'm interested to hear your solution or desired outcome(s) before I call you a heartless B. And I don't say that because of your complaints - I get them and I agree. I say it because of the way you complain and how it's sounding.

-- Dirty Liberal who found my way to this thread and also grew up in Reston and has family members in those million dollar houses who use the library without complaint

I'm a DP but you're being unfair to the OP. Typical 'liberal limousine elite post'. Do your relatives who live in those million dollar houses actually use the library? I find that what happens is a lot of those wealthier families slip the library. They buy books instead for their kids and themselves. Easier to order with a click off of Amazon than scour the shelves. So support for the library goes down.

Personally I LOVE libraries. And my solidly middle class family cannot afford to buy every single book the kids want to read.

So while this issue may not affect your rich family members in their million dollar houses, it certainly does impact the lives of middle class families who moved there for a safe place to raise their kids.

I agree with the dirty liberal....and I am solidly middle class and my dh who grew up in South Reston, and very middle class, would disagree with you. We have toddlers and actually have used the library. I don't get eeked out by homeless people thoigh and I don't want my kids to grow up thinking that it is okay to push homeless people out of public spaces because they are an inconvenience rather than providing actually services for them.

I don't want to push homeless people out of the library because they are "inconvenient". I want to push them out because they are dirty, smelly, crazy, and dangerous.

Hey hey! Dirty liberal here again!

I don't necessarily agree with the many comments that it makes the library experience unpleasant - it does. Or that the library should not be a de-facto homeless shelter - it shouldn't. But again, no one chastising me answered my question: what DO you propose/want/envision?

Have you been reading this thread? There have been several good suggestions offered; the best and most practical was moving the shelter to another location. What more do you want?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I've been doing some research and dug up an analysis (and suggestions) put forward by the Reston Association. It does appear that the library is being short-changed in the new development plans, as apparently the standard recommendation is for 1 SF per resident, and Reston has 60,000 residents, thus a new library of 60,000 is suggested. In fact, RA suggested building as large as 90,000 sf to accommodate projected population increases.

But the plans call to increase the size from its current 30,000 to only 39,000 - a 30% increase. OTOH, the shelter is projected to increase from 10,000 to 21,000 - more than doubling, and I suppose doubling the number of homeless who will ruin the new, expensive library.

RA made some good suggestions, one of which was to move the shelter to the vacant Cameron Glen Facility, which was formerly a rehab/nursing center. It already has kitchen facilities, sleeping rooms, lounge rooms, etc., and would be a cost-efficient use of existing property. (Also a way to add a but more distance to the library.) Then, the library could be expanded over the land which currently houses the shelter. )I'm guessing that idea was rejected.

Just in case any of my fellow Restonians are interested, here it is. Outdated, but interesting.
https://www.scribd.com/mobile/document/280003003/Reston-Town-Center-North-Redevelopment-RCA-White-Paper-Sept-8-2015

My understanding is that they are going to demolish that former rehab/nursing center building and create a large development there. I have other issues with that project. Namely, a daycare and preschool used to also be housed in that same building. As Reston becomes more densely developed, where is the green space for kids? Where is the long term vision for a community that is inclusive of what children need? But sorry OP, that is a tangential rant on your topic; however, much more thought and consideration and allowance is made for the residents of Embry Rucker and none at all seems to be given to the future children of Reston.

OP here, and your "tangential rant" is indicative of the same problem.....that liberal Fairfax County officials, who cannot spend money fast enough, give less consideration to the needs (and safety) of Reston's children than they do the homeless population. The intent to double the size of the shelter, and leave it adjacent to the library, is an intentional decision to give mentally unstable, dirty, and sometimes aggressive men priority over our children (as well as the adults paying the bill).

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I go to the Reston library weekly with my son, and I honestly don't recognize the scourge you all are describing. Are there homeless people there? Yes. But they've never bothered me or my son (or anyone else there when I was there) or caused any disturbance I've seen.

Someone suggested a separate room for children/families-- there actually is a family reading room in the children's section. We use it because my preschooler doesn't quite get inside voice yet and he disturbs others.

When I'm there alone, I've never had to wait for a computer. The bathrooms have been fine. I've seen a police officer walking through several times, which is nice. It's been comparable to other Ffx libraries as well as libraries in the two systems out of state I've used.

Have I just been really lucky? I've lived in Reston for a year.

The Reston library facility itself is very nice. I've always preferred it to any of the other nearby libraries. It's large and has a great selection. However, the one thing pushing me away from this library is the aforementioned presence of unstable, often aggressive, homeless men. You may not have witnessed any of the events we're describing, but trust us - it's happening. Perhaps because you saw a police officer walking through, things were under control. They usually are not. And if you were there with a preteen or teenaged daughter, I can guarantee you'd receive all the unwanted attention you'd ever want.

[Anonymous]

Reston library is a regional library, which means it's open for longer hours then other libraries. And it's open on Sunday when others aren't open. When your kid is a teen and needs to go to a library on a Sunday or random hours, guess where they'll go? A regional library, and there aren't that many.

Parents that have toddlers or little kids might not notice homeless men. But believe me when your kid is a young teen and trying to be more independent , you notice all the creepy types a lot more. It just makes no sense to have a homeless shelter next to a library.

[Anonymous]

Reston has pretty much always been solidly on the left. Sorry folks: you can't change this situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, what do you propose they do that results in the outcome of a functioning and pleasant library space AND serves a growing homeless population effectively and in a humanizing way?

You speak a lot about getting them out of the library, which I get, but you say nothing of the needs the homeless have and that those needs should be met in a compassionate way. I'm interested to hear your solution or desired outcome(s) before I call you a heartless B. And I don't say that because of your complaints - I get them and I agree. I say it because of the way you complain and how it's sounding.

-- Dirty Liberal who found my way to this thread and also grew up in Reston and has family members in those million dollar houses who use the library without complaint

Oh BS. I know many people who have nice homes in Reston, Herndon, etc and only people like you expect the local public library to become another wing of aa homeless shelter. That is what it has become. Many who love in Reston now go to other libraries. Humanizing the library for the homeless population? It is first and foremost a library. I'm a liberal and expect my tax dollars to fund a public library NOT a lounge for the homeless shelter. And WTF is Fairfax County doing putting homeless families in with that crew?

Reston is a large library-a regional not a local. Sounds like the friends of library organizations are fundraising for a counterproductive county facility. Many don't use it anymore. And the county wants the money. http://annandaleva.blogspot.com/2017/06/library-volunteers-oppose-money-grab-by.html

Who can we contact to voice our anger and concerns? I can't fathom the fact that they're planning on actually enlarging the shelter, while keeping the location the same. What complete morons.

OP here, and yes....I'm trying to figure that out as well. It's infuriating. We are making the library unpleasant for adults, not conducive for study for children, ruining the physical property, using up valuable police time, and what do the liberals want to do, now that they have a chance to rectify the situation ...MAKE THE PROBLEM WORSE!