Latchkey Library

A librarian's role has dramatically changed over the years. Today, it seems to include a new role: babysitter. Many parents are dropping their children off at the local library and leaving them unsupervised while they run errands or even go to the movies. Apparently, this is not only a US phenomena. Recently, an Australian mom left her six year old son unattended at the library. Unfortunately, she did not bother to see if the library was open when dropping him off. According to the New Zealand Herald, the library was closed and the young boy was left unattended for two hours (Staff, 2008). The mother reported leaving the boy on a regular basis at the library.
These unattended children present many potential legal issues for librarians. A library has a legal obligation to insure the safety of all patrons (New Jersey Library Association (NJLA), 2008). So, it is important for all libraries to develop a policy regarding unattended minors. Many states have laws regarding abandonment or neglect while a child is left alone at home, but these do no apply if the child is in a public setting. The Pinellas Public Library Cooperative (PPLC) has the following policy: "The following activities are NOT allowed in the library:...8. Leaving a child under the age of 7 without an adult." (PPLC, 2008). I was surprised to see the age so young. I would never have left my child alone anywhere until she was a least 13. What do you think?


NJLA. (2008). Exposure to litigation. New Jersey Library Association. Retrieved March 30, 2008, from http://www.njla.org/statements/children_libraries.html
PPLC. (2008). Patron code of conduct. Library Policies. Retrieved March 30, 2008, from http://www.tblc.org/tarpon/libpolicies.html
Staff. (2008, March 20). Mother fined for leaving son at library. New Zealand Herald. Retrieved March 30, 2008 from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10499384

Forever is a very long time.

Another poll has closed and quite frankly, I was surprised at the results. The poll asked:"How long should a library maintain patron records?" The majority chose - FOREVER. I was surprised for many reasons. First, I wondered if it was really necessary. As long as a patron has returned the material, why would we need this information. Do we need to know that patron A checked out only Clifford books or that patron B checked out Janet Evanovich and Tom Clancy books? Maybe in the short-term this information could be helpful for collection development and book trends, but in the long run, what would it matter? In light of the Patriot act and more judicial action regarding patron records, are we doing our patrons a disservice by saving this information? Many students go to the library and research a variety of topics. Some may be reflective of their current beliefs, others may not. Some, taken out-of-context, could have negative consequences for a patron. Imagine if everyone had access to the library records of any one of our current political candidates: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama or John McCain. It is easy to imagine how a reporter could take one book off this list and create a controversial story about the candidate. Many librarians and advocacy agencies suggest retaining patron information only as long a necessary (Nolan, 1993). I would agree with this, but what do you think?

Nolan, C. (1993). The confidentiality of interlibrary loan records. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 19, 81-86.

Feared Books?

Since 1982, banned book week has been observed by libraries and schools alike (ALA, 2007). I find the concept of banned or challenging books fascinating. About ten years ago, I sat on a library committee at my daughter's elementary school. At least once a month, a parent would challenge a book in our school library. For the most part, the challenges seemed to represent the parents' fear of something. There are two challenges that stand out in my mind: Freaky Friday, by Mary Rodgers and the Amber Brown Series, by Paula Danzinger. For those of you not familiar with the books, Freaky Friday was written in the early 70's and is about a girl and her mother who switch places. The Amber Brown Series was written in the late 90's. The main character is an elementary school girl whose parent's recently divorced. Both books were written for elementary school children. I am sure many of you are wondering what is challenging about either of these books? I felt the same way when I saw them on our agenda. Freaky Friday was challenged because the parent felt the teenage girl in the book was disrespectful to her mother. She told us that she works hard to instill discipline and order in her home and she feared that a book like this could negatively influence an impressionable child. She was very passionate with her plea that we remove this book from the library. In the end, the book remained in our library. The Amber Brown Series was challenged because of the divorce theme. The parent stated that she did not believe in divorce and did not want her daughter exposed to such topics. Again, this challenge was denied and the series stayed in our library. As you can see, both mothers were afraid for their children. One was afraid that their child could be negatively influenced and the other was afraid her daughter would learn about the concept of divorce. I believe we should rename the concept to "Feared Books." What do you think?

For more information about banned book week visit http://www.ala.org/.

American Library Association (ALA). (2007). Why books banned week? Background. Retrieved on March 6, 2008 from http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/backgroundb/background.htm

Addling Acronyms

The world is full of acronyms and the field of library science is no exception. Over the next month, Law & Order Library Style will be tackling many issues that are laced with acronyms.
Please feel free to reference this list when reading the blog. Each acronym includes a link for more information.

ACLU: American Civil Liberties Union
http://www.aclu.org/

ALA: American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/

CIPA: Children's Internet Protection Act
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/cipa.html

CONFU: Conference on Fair Use
http://ptc.edu/Copyright_Center/CONFU.htm

COPA: Child Online Protection Act
http://www.copacommission.org/

CPPA: Child Pornography Prevention Act
http://faculty-web.at.northwestern.edu/commstud/freespeech/cont/cases/morphed.html

DMCA: Digital Millennium Copyright Act
http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf

ICRA: Internet Content Rating Association
http://www.icra.org/sitelabel/

This is just the beginning of the acronym list. Please feel free to comment with acronyms you have found during your research.

The polls have closed and the votes are in.....

Thank you for all who participated in our recent poll: "Should sex offenders be allowed in public libraries?" Recently, this has become a controversial topic due to the events at the New Bedord Public Library. In our mini-poll, the majority of you said that sex offenders should be allowed in the public library. Is that because most who answered are involved in the world of library and information science and have dedicated their lives to providing information to all who want or need it? I don't know. I am not even sure how I feel about it. As an information professional, I want access for all, but as a mom, I want to ensure safety for all too! Unfortunately, I feel it is a slippery slope, like almost all moral dilemmas. Where does it stop? According to the Salsbury Post, this week the Rowen County Planning Board in North Carolina is voting on a sex offender ordinance. It states:"Sex offenders would be banned from parks, public libraries and the county fairground (Staff, 2008)." For more information about this ordinance, visit the following link:
http://www.salisburypost.com/area/302371998917571.php. As you can see, this ordinance includes parks and even the fairground, so where does it end? Does anyone have an idea of how we can provide access and peace of mind for all? Let me know...