By TRAVIS LOLLER

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Jeffery Bailey sleeps in a tent in a churchyard at night. He spends his days surfing the Internet, reading, and enjoying music and movies.

He does all this at the Nashville Public Library, a place of warmth and shelter in this freezing winter.

Twenty-five years have passed since the American Library Association adopted a policy advocating for full access to poor people. But the association’s Sanford Berman says many libraries need to do more to make serving the homeless a core mission.

Nashville’s library is an exception, replacing magazine racks with computer terminals and bringing in social workers trained in mental health care. Bailey, for one, is grateful to feel welcome.