Massachusetts Bill Would Affect Minors’ Reading Privacy
A bill under consideration by the Massachusetts House of Representatives would change the state’s public library law to allow parents or guardians of children under 18 to review their library records. House Bill 2891, proposed by Rep. John Quinn (D-Dartmouth), received preliminary approval by voice vote on a second reading September 30 and is headed for a third and possibly final vote.
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.” Current state law protects the privacy of library records that could “reveal the identity and intellectual pursuits” of patrons regardless of age.
Barbara Flaherty, president of the Massachusetts Library Association and director of the Billerica Public Library, said her library allows parents to see their children’s records until age 14, the Wakefield Observer reported October 8. MLA President-Elect Carolyn Noah suggested that age 12 might be a more appropriate cutoff point for parental scrutiny.
Others expressed more concern. Reading Public Library Director Kimberly Lynn said in the October 8 Reading Advocate that her library was committed to protecting the privacy of all its patrons. “The freedom to read is in the library bill of rights,” she said, “as is freedom of accessibility to information without restriction by age.” She added that the library staff is responsible for steering children towards books that are age- and grade-appropriate, but “ultimately, the parents are responsible for the choices their kids make.”
Posted October 13, 2003.
|
