Many of Jacksonville’s homeless are among the people who congregate outside the Downtown Library each morning waiting for it to open. After leaving local shelters, the homeless migrate to the library to use the restroom, read the newspaper or read a book. Before entering, they are asked to leave their bags and blankets outside. “In the past when library’s tried to institute a policy to keep the homeless people out of a public library, they were legally not allowed to do that,” said Stacie Bucher, public relations coordinator for the library. “Those libraries were taken to court, sued and lost their case. One thing we have learned from other cities opening brand new libraries is that once the new library is open, there will be more people using the library, the facility will be larger and you won’t notice the homeless as much. Anyone can use the library as long as they are not doing anything illegal and adhering to the code of conduct. Examples from the code of conduct are not eating, drinking and sleeping, and if the security guards see someone in violation code of conduct they will ask them to leave.”