Fang-Face writes “There is a very brief note about the Massachusetts Bill at American Libraries Online. It doesn’t really offer any new information although it does put an entirely different slant to the story than the earlier article.
Quinn decided to sponsor the legislation last year after an irate constituent contacted him. “The local librarian had called the house regarding overdue books for their 8- or 9-year-old child,” he said in the October 4 Boston Globe. “When the father asked for the titles, the librarian said it was against the law to tell him the names of the books.”
“
I’d ignore the request
I’m all for patron rights, but this is a little silly, and it certainly is leading to the slippery slope of parent’s right over minors versus access to information. This sort of ‘privacy protection’ for minors is going to lead to some parent’s group to sue the library demanding that they cancel their children’s cards/access. Maybe I’m too conservative (it’s possible and probably true), but if a child is considered a minor in the home, then the library should consider them a minor as well.
Alan Charles Raul
See also…
Privacy and the Digital State:
Balancing Public Information and Personal Privacy
by Alan Charles Raul
http://www.wkap.nl/prod/b/0-7923-7580-7
Kluwer 2002
KF5753.R38 2001
342.73