Ocala Library Offers
Two Borrowing Options for Kids
The Marion County Public Library System headquartered in Ocala, Florida, adopted October 31 an optional restricted-access policy that allows parents to set a limit on the type of books children under 17 can borrow. The new regulation was approved by the library board a week earlier by a 5–3 vote, the Ocala Star-Banner reported November 2.
Minors with restricted cards will only be allowed to borrow books in the children’s section designed for readers up to age 13. If their parents do not opt for restricted access, children will be entitled to check out any circulating material.
The decision came after months of controversy over two sex-education books, Deal With It! and It’s Perfectly Normal, that some in the community found inappropriate for young adults. Board member John McKeever, an Ocala lawyer, told the Star-Banner, “I think it was the most effective, least restrictive way we could handle the problem.”
County Attorney Gordon Johnston said in a memo to Library Director Julia Sieg that the new regulation was legally defensible because it provides parents with an option. It also allows all children to read any publicly available book while they are in the library.
Posted November 5, 2001.
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