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
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Brevard County Libraries policy is the same- 7 is the age at which kids can be unattended. Personally, I think that is too young. Usually we don't see parents just dumping their kids, but we do get the mom or dad who leave a toddler in the children's department and run over to the adult side. We have to remind them that we're not a babysitting service. I can fully appreciate the problem of child care- the cost, inability to find a babysitter on short notice, etc. But come on, you can't dump your 5, 6, 7 year old at a public facility and expect that magically things will be ok.
Post a Comment