Looking for a place to escape from the weather, the homeless are flocking to the downtown library in Wichita.

Many are mentally ill or suffer from drug additions. Some smell. And sometimes there are fights.

Their presence creates a dilemma for the library, which wants to help the homeless. But library officials also worry that the homeless visitors can be disruptive, and make some library users nervous.

There are few easy solutions.

Libraries can't turn the homeless away. Under the First Amendment, all Americans have the right to access information.

Some say a 24 seven homeless shelter is the solution. But no consensus has emerged.

A task force was recently appointed to find solutions for the city's homeless. They heard about the library's dilemma last week.