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Kids in the (Public) Library

posted by birdie on 09:48 AM January 2nd, 2007
from the rowdy dept. Larry Schwartz writes "This just in, from the New York Times, about them darned less-than-cute kids:MAPLEWOOD, N.J., Jan. 1Every afternoon at Maplewood Middle School's final bell, dozens of students pour across Baker Street to the public library. Some study quietly.Others, library officials say, fight, urinate on the bathroom floor, scrawl graffiti on the walls, talk back to librarians or refuse to leave when asked. One recently threatened to burn down the branch library. Librarians call the police, sometimes twice a day.The rest of the story is at here in the New York Times. Trackbacks:

This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted. Kids in the (Public) Library | Log in/Create an Account | Top | 9 comments | Search Discussion Threshold: The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

Idiots
(Score:3, Insightful) by mdoneil (2301) <lisnewsNO@SPAMoneil.cx> on Tuesday January 02, @10:12AM (#28261)
( http://oneil.cx/WP | Last Journal: Wednesday July 18, @06:22PM ) Those people are idiots. Work with the police department and if need be have a cop stationed there after school. Arrest a half dozen or so of the little miscreants and things will straighten up quickly.
The article quotes some child from the local alternative school as saying if the library is closed kids will get into trouble. It seems that at least he will get into trouble even if the library is open because he is not at the alternative school because of his algebra skills.
The problem is the parents are arseholes and pawn their kids off on the library. Well the librarians sure as hell can't get the parents involved, but the cops and the courts can. Keep the library open for those that pay for it and can act like humans and put the little bastards that piss on the floor in jail. Simple solution.
--
"Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought."
Re:Idiots
(Score:1) by Anonymous Patron on Wednesday January 03, @08:46AM (#28272) How do you propose they find the offenders that pee in the restroom? DNA testing? staff the restrooms? [ Parent ]
Re:Idiots
(Score:2) by mdoneil (2301) <lisnewsNO@SPAMoneil.cx> on Thursday January 04, @10:45AM (#28286)
( http://oneil.cx/WP | Last Journal: Wednesday July 18, @06:22PM ) It was a generalization. How about this: Put those that commit criminal offenses in jail.
Of course I know of a library that gives out the key to the bogs at the reference desk and checks the bathroom after each patron uses it. That imposition on a librarian is one way of monitoring the bathrooms, although I don't suggest it as it demeans the profession.
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"Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought." [ Parent ]
Yet another librarians-out-of-touch article
(Score:2) by ffirehorse (2640) on Tuesday January 02, @01:51PM (#28262) The condescension fairly drips off the page in this article (as is the case in most mainstream media treatments of libraries).

Examples:

"An institution that, like many nationwide, strives to attract young people, even offering beading and cartooning classes, will soon be shutting them out, along with the rest of the public, at one of the busiest parts of its day." (Translation: Libraries try to attract "young people" but end up only repelling them with underwater basket-weaving courses.)

"Library employees will still be on the job, working at tasks like paperwork, filing, and answering calls and online questions." (Translation: Librarians and library paraprofessionals don't have anything to do but busywork.)

"Increasingly, librarians are asking: What part of 'Shh!' don't you understand?" (Translation: None needed.)

"The policy includes some politely precise language common to those who speak softly from behind a reference desk: 'If a patron seems to be placing a staff member in the position of providing a nonlibrary-related function, the staff member may bring the interaction to a prompt conclusion.'" (Translation: Libraries are too namby-pamby to do anything but be ostentatiously polite to juvenile delinquents.)
Community Building Needs to Happen in Maplewood
(Score:2) by kmccook (393) on Tuesday January 02, @05:30PM (#28264)
( http://librarianoutreach.blogspot.com/ | Last Journal: Monday July 16, @06:03PM )
It's time to create community partnerships and there is so much help to do so:

The After School Alliance
==========
The National AfterSchool Association is a professional association that includes more than 7,000 practitioners, policy makers, and administrators representing all public, private, and community-based sectors of after-school and out-of-school time programs, as well as school-age and after-school programs on military bases, both domestic and international. It is dedicated to the development, education,and care of children and youth during their out-of-school hours.

Afterschool.gov is a one-stop website connecting the public, and particularly afterschool providers, to federal resources that support children and youth during out-of-school time. A great range of resources is included on Afterschool.gov, including issues that face Americaâ€™s youth, and information about starting and operating an afterschool program. Afterschool.gov includes resources from a variety of federal agencies, including a searchable database of federal funding sources. While afterschool resources are spread across the Federal government (including HHS, ED, Justice, and others), Afterschool.gov provides a single location for the public to access this information.
[ Parent ]
Re:Community Building Needs to Happen in Maplewood
(Score:2) by mdoneil (2301) <lisnewsNO@SPAMoneil.cx> on Tuesday January 02, @07:29PM (#28265)
( http://oneil.cx/WP | Last Journal: Wednesday July 18, @06:22PM ) You can't create a community with criminals. (Well you can but they call those gangs or prisons.)
Clean up the problem and then community building can begin.
--
"Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought." [ Parent ]
Re:Community Building Needs to Happen in Maplewood
(Score:2) by Curmudgeony (2223) on Tuesday January 02, @10:56PM (#28270)
( http://www.clnn.info/ | Last Journal: Friday June 10, @08:49PM ) "You can't create a community with criminals. (Well you can but they call those gangs or prisons.)
"Clean up the problem and then community building can begin."
Chicken and the egg, my friend.
As a wise person once said "It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness."
--
"Would you qualify that as a launch problem or a design problem?" [ Parent ]
Re:Community Building Needs to Happen in Maplewood
(Score:2) by mdoneil (2301) <lisnewsNO@SPAMoneil.cx> on Wednesday January 03, @12:10PM (#28274)
( http://oneil.cx/WP | Last Journal: Wednesday July 18, @06:22PM ) One should also not hide their light under a bushel. You need to clear away the obfuscation so that your light may shine for those who wish to see.
So get rid of the criminals and let the others enjoy their library.
--
"Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought." [ Parent ]
Bad Drives out Good
(Score:2) by Lee Hadden (88) on Wednesday January 03, @12:30PM (#28275)
( http://members.aol.com/leehadden/ | Last Journal: Tuesday July 13, @02:26PM ) It is the job of librarians to be librarians. Librarians are not police. Police are police. Get some cops in there (even rent-a-cops) and get some order. Bad drives out good, so get rid of the bad. Get in someone who can command enforcement of orders and rules, not someone who can intellectualize, wheedle and persuade, and hoe idiots will listen and obey. Get someone who can command truth, can demand identification, and can get law enforcement backup. Get someone who can arrest anyone who breeaks a law. Too many libraries are run on a shoestring budget, and bad kids come in when there is too little order and too little staff.
And no, cops can't arrest someone they can't identify, such as the kid who peed on the bathroom floor. But this type of behavior is cumulative and escalating- it needs to be stopped when lesser annoyances occur first. Left alone, things don't get better- they get worse. This is where the cops come in- to stop bad behavior before it gets worse.
Kids don't have any respect for librarians. They do respect cops. The uniform is the first thing they look for, and the last thing they want to see. Just being there will drive away those who are looking for trouble, and will make the other library users (and library staff) feel more secure.
If the county government won't pay for cops (and then you will obviously need a new county government), maybe the Library's Friends Organization can pay for some rental cops, at least during the most flagrent periods of outrage. And if the library doesn't have a friend's organization, then that library has other problems besides wild kids.
Hiding you head up your butt and saying "Nobody's home" when thugs knock on the door after school isn't the answer. The police are. Get some.
Get some today.

--
R. Lee Hadden (These are my own opinions!)

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