Thread: Freedom of speech in libraries
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Old 07-27-2007, 12:05 PM   #2 (permalink)
CrazyFlamingos
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Quote:
Originally Posted by knot_e_lady View Post
Her other argument was that the library can't take over the job of the parents. To me, that is stupid, since, if these kids are in gangs, the parents don't really care what their kids are doing in the first place. And what about the safety of good kids who go there to read? Now they are saying parents have to be with their kids at the library 100% of the time? WTF?

I come at this from a different perspective; I worked in a public library for 12+ years -- from around 1980 to 1992. We were also within easy walking distance of a K-8 private school and a 7-12 public school.

I don't think any child who is too young to drive his or her self should ever be left at a library without a parent or other responsible adult accompanying him/her. Once they are old enough to drive, hopefully they are also responsible enough to be trusted to take care of themselves.

Library staff are not baby-sitters. And they have no legal authority over or legal responsibility for children left there unattended.

If your child suddenly decides to head out the door and go -- well wherever -- library staff have absolutely no authority to stop him.

If your child goes outside runs into the street and is seriously injured or if he is just suddenly taken seriously ill are the library staff going to know how to contact you?

If your child goes outside and is stung by a bee is the library staff going to know if he is allergic to stings and know the appropriate steps to take if he is?

And your kid may be the perfect library patron and never cause a problem. We had a lot of those when I worked at the library. But if the library allows your child to hang out every afternoon after school without supervision how do they get rid of the troublemakers? Their only recourse is to ban kids one at a time after they have caused a problem. And this involves filing police reports, restraining orders, etc.

How much do you suppose the city wants to pay a professional librarian per year to spend hundreds of hours in court dealing with those tasks?

And I don't know how many times we contacted parents to try and solve a problem before it got to that point only to be told, "My child wouldn't do that."

I always felt like saying, "OK lady, you're right. I just hate kids and picked your little angel at random for persecution today."

As to restricting certain sites such as MySpace, I see both sides. I don't think that it is good for kids to have access to these sites. And I can see how their leading to gang confrontations is a serious problem.

On the other hand a lot of adults use them for networking for such things as hobby groups and even job searching. Yes, to me, it is a free speech issue. How can restricting adult access to these sites be justified? Or how can kids be restricted without also restriciting adult access?

The gang problem is a little more difficult for me to respond to. I live/work in a small town. Our "gangs" usually consist of a few pothead punks with tatoos and matching ball caps. A real urban gang would eat them for lunch. So I can't relate.

But if there are gangs in the area, perhaps a security guard is not a bad idea whether or not other measures are put into place.
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