Public libraries in Wisconsin to release circ info

mcbride says:

Ooops…another issue to start a debate
Toot toot to Wisconsin. Children do not have the right to privacy from their parents. Their bedrooms are not protected by privacy from their parents. Neither should the services provided by libraries. When they leave the house at 18, they can do what they please with complete anonymity.

Gotta love the argument FOR the privacy of children: “It’s a major invasion of the right of privacy of children,” he (Rep. Marlin Schneider)said. “Children need to understand their rights are protected, and if government won’t protect their rights nobody will.”

Representative, children have some rights that (should) outweigh their parents, such as healthcare, food, basic education. But not this. It’s a tool for parents to say, “You should use the library, responsibly. They will not censor what you can/cannot read and checkout. But I will, just like when you use the internet at home.” So if a child practices their right to free speech, the government will protect them if a parent objects to that speech and grounds them?

The law doesn’t allow ANYONE to view their records, just their parents. Get over it. How can a parent effectively raise a child if the rules at home cannot be adequately controlled outside the home.

Or here, a quote from Jane Ameel, director of Waukesha Public Library: “…libraries and librarians value information, and people’s access, unfettered, to information…We have all seen many, many times in our career children looking for what most of us would feel is appropriate information for a young person growing up, (children) who are uncomfortable because they want confidentiality.”

It’s not your decision to decide what ‘most of us’ feel is appropriate for a child. If you want them to have access to everything ‘unfettered’, then give us (parents) the tools to determine what they are reading and if it is appropriate. Also, the State Bar of Wisconsin is out of line trying to justify the position using the extreme example of victimized children needing access to info. It’s true that the tool could be used against children by awful parents, but these people probably aren’t allowing their children to use the services anyway.