Fang-Face writes “The Boston Globe has a most interesting article about a movement to repeal children’s privacy rights in the matter of what they read at public libraries. I see lots of contentious issues inherent in this one, and most of them are enumerated in the article.”
They say the measure, which has cleared early legislative hurdles, is driven by parental concerns that children could be reading and watching materials about sex or violence without their knowledge.
Parents vs. Johnny
One thing in the article caught my eye and that was that a parent couldn’t know what the child had overdue. Is this common at all? Here, we hold the minor’s records as confidential until the account goes overdue. Our policy is at that point, since the parent had to sign and accept financial responsibility for the child, they can know what the child has overdue. After all, who winds up looking for the stuff anyway?
I had no problems reading anything when I was growing up. My parents never denied me a book no matter what the subject. They always reserved the right to discuss it as I read through it. That way, if it was a touchy or controversial subject, I could learn their views on it and understand why they thought their feelings were correct. But we do have some religious people that frequent our library. Some are legit, orthodox, pious followers of their faith while others are born again nuts. But that’s for another discussion.
Anyhow, I’ve had to help a couple of these folk’s kids get books on sex. They know their parents didn’t want them reading The Joy of Sex or stuff by Dr. Ruth. But they had the normal, healthy, adolescent curiosity going and it’s my job to get a patron what they want. What of their rights to read whatever they want?
Of course, mom and dad should have control over what their child reads. I think we all grew up with different ideas of what is and isn’t acceptable reading material. Yet I can see a slope here that, if we have to tell parents what their child has on their card, then the parents are going to tell us not to check out materials on a subject to their kids, and then we’d have to tell kids why they can’t have that book (Because your mum and dad said no.), and then we’re starting to police who can have what. For example, if a kid isn’t supposed to check out books with violence in them, what about the Vietnam Experience books? They’re pretty graphic, they got history, and they need it for a paper. Is it okay to check that out, even though it’s got violence? That’s a decision I don’t want to be forced to make. If nothing else, this could lead to rating books like movies and games. And I think few of us want to go there.
Re:Parents vs. Johnny
Amen. Ratings systems are simply a way of trying to make a ticket clerk, video game store sales associate, whatever, do a parent’s job. If precious little Junior can’t be exposed to certain books, then it’s Mom and Dad’s job to come to the library *with* him. And if they don’t have time to be involved in his life and talking to him about what he thinks and reads, then he has bigger problems than the small issue of illicitly reading library books with pictures of normal human sexuality in them.
Re:Parents vs. Johnny
Interestingly enough, Best Buy has been working against laws to force clerks into ID checking and age verification. Their logic is quite simple, and stunning, for such a large company. They believe that a parent should be a parent, and come to the store with their child so they know what game or movie or whatever they’re buying. And after all most games, or at least the good ones, are pretty spendy no matter what system you’re buying it for. (Whether it’s PC, PS2, X-Box, GameCube, etc.) I just bought Jedi Academy for the PC, and it cost around US$45.00. (Blue Twi’lek female Jedi are the rox!) Anyhow, is it really a wise parenting choice to let your kid run about with that kind of money on them? I know I wouldn’t want my kid bandying around with $50 or more down to the game shop and getting mugged on the way in or out.
And boy oh boy, if you don’t think the same kind of content that moralistic crusaders get all over themselves about is present in games, you need to try a few. There’s been violence in gaming since people decided Pong was boring and there’s been sex in mainstream gaming since Golgo 13 got laid in Top Secret Episode for the original Nintendo Entertainment System. And games like Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (One of my favs.) combine all the above plus more.
So if a parent objects to the content, they need to be present, they need to ignore the “rating” and just read the back of the box, check out the pictures, and see what the game is about. Ratings systems are crap anyway, and if you don’t believe me I offer up this example from the movie industry:
Star Wars Episode I is rated PG… and so is Beethoven. (You know, the dog movie with the St. Bernard.) One is primarily a family movie comedy featuring a St. Bernard and hijinks. The other is a space opera feauring blaster battles, oppression on a planetary scale, and let’s not forget the lightsaber in the gut or the fine red mist one gets when one bisects a Dark Jedi.
I rest my case.
Money as the denominator…
The money is a way to leverage knowledge of everything being checked out, before it gets checked out. (control freaks will claim: I don’t want Johnny checking out $50 books, when they just want fine-grained control over their child)
Conversely, I do agr ee with you that people who’re financially responsible should get that info, when it starts coming due.
If parents have done such a horrible job raising their child that they don’t trust the little snot, then they need to deny him/her a library card.
As long as the libraries aren’t handing out library cards to all comers, then I think kids should have privacy on their library records.
What nobody’s mentioned is that most of those books can be read in the library, which has always been my solution to problems with records, overdue fees I couldn’t afford at the time, etc, etc.
— Ender, Duke_of_URL
Re:Parents vs. Johnny
The whole violence issue always puzzles me. In books, in movies, in everything, I see people horrified at the thought of their kids reading/watching anything with “bad” language and sex, but they don’t seem to object to violence. That seems so strange to me. Were I a parent, I’d be much more concerned about my kids being exposed to horrific violence than to sex. I think these parents are just too embarassed to explain the facts of life to their kids, and they need to get over it. I have heard a ton of cases of books like the Joy of Sex being challenged at libraries, but I’ve never heard anything about people challenging some of those true crime books, which get pretty graphic in their descriptions of murder. That’s just messed up.
Parents vs. Johnny
Why hasn’t someone explained this novel idea to lawmakers: if parents want to know what their child is reading or looking at, go with them to the library!
Go with your kids…
…it’s not always that easy. Most parents have to work, and despite their best efforts to remain around their kids all the time, the double income family — or a working single parent family — isn’t always able to do that. Not that we shouldn’t encourage parents to join their kids at the library, but it’s not always possible.