Alabama: Ozark Library Increases Parental Supervision Requirements But Doesn’t Remove Books
The Ozark Dale County Library Board of Trustees Wednesday approved new policies that will require more parental supervision of children in libraries but did not explicitly remove or ban any books.
The approval came in a meeting that was far less tense – and far less crowded – than a special called meeting in August that followed challenges to books with LGBTQ+ content by local officials. The new policies will require more children to be accompanied by adults and limit children’s access to certain parts of the library.
Members of the board said Wednesday the changes would reaffirm the role of the parent and protect staff from potential legal liability.
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The changes include:
- Raising the age of children needing to be accompanied by an adult from 10 to 13.
- Adjusting age ranges for sections of the library and adding age range stickers to books in the young adult section, based on publisher’s recommendations.
- Signage saying all books may not be in line with parents’ wishes and offering assistance from staff for questions and concerns. The sign will also ask parents to monitor their children.
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
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