Frank Bunnell, who is homeless, reads at the San Francisco Public Library on Jan. 29 in San Francisco. The main branch of the San Francisco Public Library, where hundreds of homeless people spend every day, is the first in the country to keep a full-time social worker on hand, according to the American Library Association.

San Francisco ? Every day, when the main library opens, John Banks is waiting to get inside. He finds a spot and stays until closing time. Then his wheelchair takes him back to the bus terminal where he spends his nights.

Like many homeless public library patrons, all Banks wants is a clean, safe place to sit in peace. He doesn’t want to talk to anyone. He doesn’t want anyone to talk to him. But the day he decides he wants help, he knows what to do: ask for the social worker.

The main branch of the San Francisco Public Library, where hundreds of homeless people spend every day, is the first in the country to keep a full-time social worker on hand, according to the American Library Association.

But cities across the country are trying different approaches to deal with patrons who use bathroom sinks as showers or toilet stalls as drug dens. In Philadelphia and San Francisco, libraries have hired homeless patrons to work as bathroom attendants who guide others to drop-in centers or churches where they can bathe.

In Portland, Ore. the downtown library is trying a penalty system for patrons who commit infractions — banishing them from the library for a day for shaving, three years for fighting.

While San Francisco is the first to hire a social worker, other libraries may follow. As the economy languishes and cities shut down social programs, public libraries are becoming repositories for those who have been kicked out and turned away from all other places.

Camila Alire, president of the Chicago-based ALA, said that while libraries have long been refuges for the down and out, anecdotal reports underscore that they are dealing with more people than ever before with mental health issues and basic needs such as food and shelter.

“Public libraries are trying their best to serve their users and people who have traditionally been non-users,” Alire said. “I hope that what the San Francisco Public Library has done by hiring a social worker serves as a model, because these people are educated and trained to help these patrons who have every right to use the public library system.”

More libraries across the country are hiring therapists to train staff members how to handle stressful patrons. Edmond Otis, a psychotherapist, trains librarians how to talk to patrons who may be mentally ill or on drugs.

“There is a gigantic homeless population that basically ‘passes’ except nobody knows where they sleep,” Otis said. “That population is growing. But we’re looking at the mentally ill and drug addicted. And there are ways of talking to someone.” That includes remaining calm, treating all patrons with respect, and setting rules and sticking to them, he said.