Once upon a time, people who needed to work on their laptops (or pads of paper, but not typewriters) went to the public library. Unfortunately, homeless shelter

Once upon a time, people who needed to work on their laptops (or pads of paper, but not typewriters) went to the public library. Unfortunately, homeless shelters don't let their guests remain in the shelters during the day. The result is that libraries are full of homeless people. Theft is an issue--theft is an issue in coffeeshops as well, but it's worse in libraries. And the tables are just as full. You can usually purchase reference privileges at a university library for a nominal sum, and government depository libraries have to let you in for free. This is an alternative to the coffeeshop freeloaders and the poor homeless with no place to go.