Comments on: Kennewick library giving students the boot

By: melba

melba — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 01:57:43 +0000

Truancy is in the jurisdiction of the schools, not the public libraries. I think this just gives librarians a bad name at a time when we need to be proving to people that we should STILL EXIST at all. I really hope they reverse this policy. I have worked in libraries where young people congregate, and yes, they can be annoying. Librarians shouldn’t get to decide who can or cannot use the library just because they see them as “loitering unproductively.”

By: Matthew

Matthew — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:48:46 +0000

It sounds like a lot of people commenting here are either idealistic library school students or haven’t entered a public library in years. The “beautiful” notion of young people coming in to “use the resources” is, in my experience, a fantasy–unless you’re talking about kids skipping school to use the computers (MySpace).

I work in a public library that serves six schools in the immediate area and we average almost 60 young people daily. They’re here for one reason: to be entertained. Mostly they spend their time on Web sites like MySpace and loiter unproductively all day despite best efforts on the part of library staff to find suitable and enjoyable programming for them. I had a conversation with one eleven year-old young man today about why he wasn’t in school and he told me he “forgot to go.” He couldn’t tell me the year in which he was born, couldn’t verbalize the difference between the concepts of days, months, and years (he kept using the words interchangeably, so I asked), and couldn’t figure out what the word “read” said while glancing at some materials on my desk.

Since we’re a public library, we aren’t allowed to call the truancy officer. So tell me: who is to ensure that these young people are properly educated when parents aren’t enforcing attendance and there is a “haven” (refuge from big bad school!) in a library that won’t call them on their wrong actions and gives them a free pass to fun and games (as some have suggested) whenever they want to cut class to get it?

I will agree that there are better ways of doing this than carding people at the door (perhaps setting time limitations on designated computers for children and teens–using software blocks or not turning them on till after school hours) but this is an issue that has definitely not been addressed adequately and unfortunately can’t be solved by throwing ideals at it.

By: Lynden Rothfork

Lynden Rothfork — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:24:26 +0000

Well, they finally changed the policy. More like get ridding of it because it was against some sort of law. Thnx all for agreeing with me and the other students about the stupid policy

By: This Ain’t Your Grandma’s Library :gatherthing

This Ain’t Your Grandma’s Library :gatherthing — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 18:01:03 +0000

[...] need to make things easy for our customers very much like this, and be careful to avoid situations that paint us in a less than stellar [...]

By: Ian

Ian — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:14:24 +0000

If I had been the couple with the toddler, on being informed that they would call the police, I think I would have said “you must do as you see fit,” and then I’d have gone on reading to the toddler. Surely some heroic senior will go in there and make them call the police?

By: Deborah

Deborah — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 23:47:37 +0000

All of these points are so true. The school needs to deal with its truancy issue if they have one. The library should not have to deal with training staff to discern whether patrons are students or adults who look like students. Shouldn’t their training be more customer service oriented?

What else is going on here? Are the kids being disruptive during this time? Even so, there should be a better solution than the one described here. I have been in the situation where unruly kids come into the library and disrupt it. You want to set a time that they can’t attend because they are out of control.

But that is not the solution in that case either. All parties need to look at the problem from all angles and decide on a better solution where all everyon can feel validated. Often things go from bad to worse because no one takes the time to address the needs of those involved.

By: Eric Bailey

Eric Bailey — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:28:39 +0000

A truancy problem is none of the library’s business, and besides being difficult to enforce already seems to be having a negative impact on the library’s mission. Not to mention the negative press it’s garnering. Anyone care to hazard a guess as to what effects THAT’s going to have?

By: Colleen

Colleen — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:57:55 +0000

I agree with what everyone has said, but I also wanted to know more about the library in the high school. It said in the article-

“I used it every day. The library in school doesn’t always have the right resources,” said Taylor Crawford, 17, a junior.

Maybe an easy solution would be to take a look at the high school’s library and what is going wrong there that forces the teens to walk across the street to use resources at the public library.

I was literally gaping with my mouth open as I read this. Unbelievable!

By: Tom J.

Tom J. — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:49:48 +0000

To me it looks like the school is having a truancy problem and is trying to work with other community organizations (like the library) to solve the problem. I think it would be best for them to hold an open meeting and to communicate to the kids about truancy (perhaps they have done this).

I agree with most opinions here about home schoolers and a bad message from the library, but I’m not sure what the right solution is. Certainly, the library is a better place for any kid to hang out than on the street corner. But if the kids should be in school and instead are ditching to do gaming on the library computers, I think the library ought to help the school and get the kids back in class.

By: Carol

Carol — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 22:53:22 +0000

It doesn’t really say why the students are coming to the library. There are probably lots of reasons why young people are there, but it appears as if they have focused on one, truancy.

We have a lot of late start and half days and full non-attendance (institute days) at our high schools. We also serve patrons from three high schools at our public library, and that doesn’t even begin to address the determining whether the people are students in one of these high schools, home schooled, early graduates, or just young looking graduates. I can’t imagine how this policy would work. It seems ill conceived and short-sighted on the parts of both administrations.

Surely there is a better way to encourage kids want to go to school rather than to tell them they are not allowed in the library. It is a challenge to build programs for all students, but for those who don’t want to attend class, this is a situation that should be approached as an opportunity to engage rather than shut out them out. Perhaps a better way to use the resources available would be for the library and high school to share an employee (perhaps a librarian with a teaching or counseling background) to explore the issue and try to come up with a more positive solution with the support of both administrations. It might be a good opportunity to write a grant…

By: Renee

Renee — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 15:00:59 +0000

Library Bill of Rights, Article V:
A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.

By: Bee

Bee — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 19:01:25 +0000

If the school has an open campus policy, that does not make it the library’s responsibility to monitor the students.

By: elizabeth

elizabeth — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:18:00 +0000

I’m shocked that this policy was passed. They are setting a horrible public image for themselves and making it harder to reach teenagers. I have to agree with everyone’s concerns for homeschooling families, drop outs, and just people who look younger. I find it ridiculous that rather than embracing the students who choose to visit the library during their lunch hour they are pushing them away. It’s a shame and I hope it gets reconsidered.

By: CychoLibrarian

CychoLibrarian — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:42:08 +0000

This issue always seems to come up periodically. I’ve not only had the disgruntled customer complaining about it, but frequently staff complaining about “truant” kids based just on their guess about their age. The irony to me is that with these kids in our library we have a chance to make a difference. Instead of getting on a high horse about whether the kids should be in school, why not talk to them? Do an impromptu book-talk. Tell them about the programs you’re having later. Or just sit down and play a game with them. If they’re skipping school, they’re probably in need of positive adult interaction!

By: Dan Messer

Dan Messer — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 13:06:58 +0000

That’s the area of Washington State I was born and raised in. I have to say, the libraries around there have some of the weirdest policies I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure which library Ms. Levine called home, but the Yakima Library has the same exact policy. New books are put on display for a week. You can’t have them. You can’t check them out. You have to reserve them. Why?

Well, I worked there for over ten years and I was never able to find out.