Ocala Trustees Rethink
Restricted Borrowing for Minors
The Marion County (Fla.) Public Library System board voted December 4 to delay the implementation of an optional restricted-access policy that allows parents to limit the borrowing privileges of children under 17 to a collection deemed appropriate for youngsters as old as 13. Scheduled to take effect January 1, the opt-out policy entitled children whose parents did not request a restricted card to check out any circulating material.
The December 6 Ocala Star-Banner reported that trustees wanted time to consider options for modifying the new policy. Among the proposals are the creation of a restricted-access collection or the implementation of a computerized list of titles that parents don’t want their children to borrow. “With this improvement to the restricted card, we would exactly match the restriction to the parents’ concerns, instead of eliminating the child’s access to nearly 300,000 books,” board member Glenn Lane wrote in his proposal.
No decision will be made before January 22, 2002, when the board is next scheduled to meet.
Posted December 10, 2001.
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