Many libraries don’t restrict what children check out

Cyberpunk Librarian says:

Children’s access, parent’s rights
Here in Washington state, state law makes it illegal to divuldge information about a library account and what’s checked out to it. (RCW 42.17.310) So the idea that a library won’t tell a parent what’s out on a child’s card is not a new one by any stretch. In some states, this isn’t just policy, it’s the law.

However, we do have a policy that, when the account goes overdue or owes money, then the parent can find out what’s going on with the card. While some people may disagree with this practice, and while we could probably sit here all day and argue the pros and cons, that’s simply the way the laws tell us to conduct business.

Going back to the child and the R rated videos, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. It is not our responsiblity to act as parent. Yes I know, the child couldn’t see the film in the cinema, they couldn’t buy it from some stores. In those instances, the businesses have taken it upon themselves to act as a parental agent for children. If they want to do that, fine, but I don’t see how it solves anything.

Parent’s should know what their children have out on their card. And if the parent in question didn’t know that the kid checked out R rated videos, then that parent didn’t take the time or energy to ask his kid what they’d checked out. The law states that a library can’t give out patron information, it doesn’t say anything about what information a parent can demand at home. Lemme tell ya somethin’, when my kid is old enough to check out stuff, I’m going to ask him first before I try going to the library. I’ll find out if he’s lying. But then again, if parents actually, you know, go to the library with their kids, they may learn something. Not only about what their child checks out, but about their interests.

And let’s face reality for a moment. Sometimes, trying to come between a kid and what they really want is like coming between a freight train and its intended destination. When I was young, my parents didn’t think I was quite ready for Richard Pryor’s comedy. Solution: Go to a friend’s house and listen to theirs. Granted, you can only do so much, but most parents don’t seem to be doing enough.

Cyberpunk Librarian says:

Re:correlating political opinions with demographic
I would think so. I have a brand new baby boy, only 6 weeks old. So yes I have children, but not of any age to check anything out. I was raised in a middle class home in a fairly conservative town. However, my parents never denied me anything to read. They would sometimes, rarely, deny me certain things to watch or listen to. Even then this was more the exception than the norm.

If I read anything they were at all uncomfortable with, we’d discuss it. I remember reading a book titled, I believe, How To Get More Out of Sex: Than You Ever Thought You Could at the tender age of around 8 to 10. While my mom and dad were a bit nervous about their son reading what amounts to a guide to sex, they never stopped me. But while I read the book, we’d discuss things in it. Result, when time came in high school for sex ed classes, I found that I knew more than the teacher about everything from STDs to multiple orgasm.

Doesn’t mean I was all that popular with the ladies though. sigh

Anyhow, I grew up in an environment where reading was looked upon as a sacred right not to be denied to anyone. Thus I grew up in a very liberal place brimming with access to a multiverse of ideas and information. Result: I’m a voracious reader to this day, usually have six books going at any given time ranging in subject from sci-fi to mystery to non-fiction, and I consider myself to be at least fairly intelligent because of it. I learned more from reading than I ever learned in school.

So yes, demographic, children, and upbringing probably has a LOT to do with things. While I was raised in a “non-church-going Christian household,” I wasn’t forced into any religious opinion, which probably explains why I’m pagan.

So free access to reading? Yes. Liberal upbringing? Hell yeah.