Loadkins: Not once in the Constitution of the United States, nor in the Preamble to the Constitution did I find the word ‘Christian.’ You and those with your mindset scare the hell out of me. I believe you present more of a danger to our children and the future of this country than any terrorist could hope to.

ScaredLemming: Yes, anti-Semitic comes to mind when I read your posts. But not nearly as readily as paranoid, mentally unbalanced, hate-monger, etc.

There seem to be two problems. [1] The library categories are not up to date with parental needs. I would not expect the sort of examples cited to be available to a child looking at books marked as appropriate for children. The realities of the publishing world are beyond limits for many careful parents, yet parents should be able to trust the library to clearly mark what, although available, might be dubious for children at various stages of moral impressionability. This may mean that libraries need to upgrade to rating categories with the sort of information promised in video game ratings. [2] CAP has over reacted in their demanded solutions.

Obviously NO local group should decide what my child can and cannot read. Parents must decide that. Should a local group decide what my child can and cannot eat? When they should sleep? What they should wear? C’mon. Leave the librarian’s alone and follow the rules in place. There’s been questionable material in libraries for decades.

You said it Magnus. What a colossal waste of time! Are these people so deluded that they honestly think that modern teens go to the library (of all places) to get their fix of racy material?
“Hey I’ve got an idea, let’s focus all of our energy and attention inventing solutions to problems that don’t even exist!”
What a joke. Further proof, that some people have waaaaay too much time on their hands. I will never understand the mentality (inflated ego is more like it) of people who feel compelled to crusade to tell everyone else what to do. The PAC is a relic of a bygone era. It’s probably comprised of the same people that perpetuate all of the ridiculous right-wing drivel that my grandfather forwards to my inbox. Folks at PAC: Why don’t you worry about parenting your own kids and let me parent mine?

As a parent, I trust that a library will provide my children with appropriate materials. To me, this means proper categorization of all materials. Just as movies and games are labeled in your local video rental, I trust that the library will set standards for which materials are under each section in the library. I don’t have time to read everything my 4 children check out to make sure it contains appropriate subject matter. I have to trust that when the section says ‘Juvenile’, whatever they pick up from that section will meet the same standard as the last book. I believe this is what this group is trying to accomplish. It’s not censorship, but correct labeling and categorization that is the goal here.

My children are also trusting the library to make the appropriate titles available to them. They don’t know what is in a book until they read it. The only way to shield them from something they don’t have the intention of reading is by correct labeling. This allows them to be responsible for what they are exposed to and allows them to make decisions about what they are willingly exposed to.

And just like you have to be 18 to rent some movies, why shouldn’t it apply to books also? 18 is the social standard age at which you are recognized as being aware of your actions and the consequences they will have on you and your life. If a parent feels their child should have access to materials before they reach this age, then, yes, they should be able to make it available to them. Once again here, the key is KNOWING that something is in a category before allowing exposure.

My kids, my decision, just as it was for MY parents when I was younger. Though I can say that my parents pretty much let me read anything I wanted to. Hence, I was reading books from the adult section by age 10-11. Why? Because the books in the juvenile/teen sections were below my reading and interest level.
Was I destroyed because I was reading Ed McBain, Victoria Holt, murder mysteries and such in my tween and early teen years? Not at all. Reading allows a person to intellectually explore many things and leads to further understanding an knowledge. Perhaps these parents wouldn’t be so worried about what their children are learning by reading books from the library if the parents were opening up the lines of communication about these subjects at a early age and continuing these discussions as the children get older. That way the child is asking the parent and perhaps not afraid to discuss these things, feelings etc with their parents.

Given that so few children actually take the time to read these day, I’m surprised this is even an issue.

For far too long have grown adults in this country behaved like undisciplined, yet well entertained children themselves. I believe the quote was, “Give them Bread and Circuses…”

Information is freedom people. Censorship and restriction at the hands of ANY government agency is SLAVERY. Wake up.

It’s about time parents pay attention to, interact with, and take responsibility for the children they we’re so driven to bring into this world.

Make the books available. Rate them (like films) if you deem necessary, but it’s a parent’s responsibility to quit whining and take control of what their children read.

Period.

I work in a library. We have a system set up, as I’m sure St. Louis County does, that prohibits children from checking out movies unless the parent has signed saying they can do so. As far as books go, we have 3 sections seperated. Adult, teens, and childrens. It is the parents responsiblity to know what kids are reading. Up until a certain age, the parents should be with their children at the library, knowing what material is checked out. And when their child is old enough to take them selves to the library, its up to the kid to know what is good for them and what is not. The library is not your personal babysitter. Dropping your kids off for hours and then picking them up is not what a responsible parent should be doing. If the parent were with them, then they would be able to intersect any books that they deem inappropriate. As far as teen books go, the teen should know. And, be happy that your child is reading. Because since they are reading, they are not out getting into trouble. Let their imagination take them to where they cant go.

I absolutely support the ideals and actions of Citizens Against Pornography (CAP). It’s preposterous that our libraries have pornography in the children’s section right where my kids can access it without any recourse at all. Where’s the librarian? What is she doing? Shouldn’t she be making sure this trash isn’t on the book shelves? Sarah Palin is a good God fearing Christian, and I applaud her efforts to rid the libraries in Alaska of porn. If her daughter hadn’t been corrupted by the improper books in the library, perhaps she wouldn’t be in the predicament she is in now. Thankfully, she’s going to have a proper marriage. If something were to happen to McCain, it would do this country right to have Palin as President–someone who can enforce proper beliefs on a country that is being overrun by sex crazed demons. I’m a tax paying citizen, and I whole-heartedly agree with So Co’s post below: “where has common sense gone?” The Devil is alive and well, and lurking in your library, waiting to corrupt your children with sex and drugs. Praise the Lord there’s an organization like CAP working to fight this horrendous corruption of America’s youth.

Yes, there should be limits to what a child can check out at a library–IT’S CALLED PARENTS! That is the responsibility of parents. Parents have no right to abdicate that parental responsibility to a librarian.