Checking Materials Out to Children Without Parent's Permission

Submission Date:

Thursday, December 12, 2024

Question:

Our library is trying to set some parameters around what we require from a patron in order to check out library materials to them. For adults and teens, this is straightforward: we require they have their library card or a form of identification. We are struggling to find a procedure that works for children when they visit the library without a library card, accompanied by someone who is not their parent or legal guardian. This includes kids who visit the library on field trips or with their daycare, or who come with a friend or extended family member.

We want to have a procedure that balances the rights of minors to read freely, with protection for our library against claims that we have checked out materials to children that the parent/guardian believes to be inappropriate.

Some details about our library's policies:
1. We are a public library and do not restrict borrowing privileges by age group. A card holder is permitted to check out anything in the library, regardless of their age.
2. When a child (birth - age 11) gets a library card, their parent or legal guardian must fill out and sign an application that states: “My child has permission to have a library card. I understand that all library collections, including adult material and internet access, are available to children. I accept responsibility for my child's use of the library and any loss incurred.” This application is retained until the cardholder becomes an adult.[1]

We are not primarily concerned with the financial contract between the library and the parent/guardian, but with the potential fallout if a parent were to become angry that their child was permitted to check something out without their library card. If the card is present — say Dad gave it to Grandma when she offered to bring the kids to the library — we feel somewhat assured by having the parent's signature from the original card application. When the card is NOT present, though, we worry that we're opening ourselves up to problems.

We do have a compassionate/creative internal library card that we occasionally use to check out items to folks when our library's policies (e.g. Requiring a card/ID be present) are interfering with the library's ability to fulfill its mission (e.g. Teen has a book report that's due tomorrow and they didn't bring their wallet). We're concerned that if we used that mechanism to check something out to a younger child whose parent is not with them, we could be accused of using our Public Library Agenda to thwart parents' rights. 

Are we overthinking this?

Answer:

First, I'll answer the easy question: No, you are not overthinking this.

For children fortunate enough to be brought to the public library at a young age, the experience is life-altering. They grow as readers and thinkers. They see themselves as part of a community that shares resources. They start to absorb the values of privacy and information access.

All of this is imbued by the library providing and applying the factors listed in the question: the card policy, the rules around borrowing, and how the child's parents and guardians are brought into the mix.

Which brings us to the crux of the member's question:

We want to have a procedure that balances the rights of minors to read freely, with protection for our library against claims that we have checked out materials to children that the parent/guardian believes to be inappropriate.

In New York, the procedure to ensure the library is protected is simple in one way and complex in another.

It is simple because the recipe for the protection referenced is already in the law.

Just like the chemical formula for one of the molecules in lavender[1] is this:

The “formula” for a library to be protected against an assertion that a minor checked out inappropriate material is:

Of course, this is the protection from claims of criminal liability, and as we have seen, claims of criminal liability aren't the only things libraries and library workers need protection from.

So, let's re-examine the question with the idea that “protection” means from coercive tactics and civil liability,[2] not criminal prosecution.

We want to have a procedure that balances the rights of minors to read freely, with protection for our library against claims that we have checked out materials to children that the parent/guardian believes to be inappropriate.

Other than the practices described in the question (parental acknowledgement at the time a card is obtained, confirmation of age), the tactics to do this are far more complex.

How complex? Well, to go back to the chemistry analogy, the above image was for just one molecule. Here is a full suite of molecules in the essential oils of L. angustifolia (lavender): 

As case law shows, the best protection is a complex array of library practices, all working in alignment to create a beautiful whole.

What is that array?

In short, libraries: keep on doing what you do.

That said, if there is one thing to emphasize that could help guard against negative impacts from a parent displeased with a child's library choice, it would be to add to adjust the language in the parental sign-off from this:

“My child has permission to have a library card. I understand that all library collections, including adult material and internet access, are available to children. I accept responsibility for my child's use of the library and any loss incurred.” This application is retained until the cardholder becomes an adult.

To this:

1. I acknowledge that my child has applied for a library card and will be responsible for following the conditions of that card, including the Library Code of Conduct and Library User Bill of Rights.
2. I understand that materials and internet access at the library are not restricted by age, and that my child must be accompanied by a responsible adult while in the library until age 13.[3]
3. I appreciate that if I have any questions or concerns about my child's use of library services, I can contact [ADDRESS] to discuss them confidentially.
4. [IF NEEDED] I agree to pay all costs incurred by my child due to loss or damage of borrowed materials.

This change in language can do a few things. First, it changes parent/guardian “permission” to get a library card to “acknowledgement” that the child has agency to apply for access; this subtly (or not-so-subtly) removes the implication that a parent must consent for a child to get a library card.[4]

Second, it links the acknowledgement of collection/internet access to the Code of Conduct and the “unaccompanied minors” policy.

Third, by emphasizing how to address concerns, it provides a gateway for concerns to be brought forward in a proactive way.

And finally, if it is a concern, it puts the parent/guardian on the hook for damage fees.

To bring this all home: why is all of this so important?

First, the answer is: this stuff has always been important.

But second: this answer is being written in October 2024. As I write, the wave of coordinated efforts to limit access to library content continues, and children having access to that content is often cited as a motivation for those efforts.[5] While threats of criminal prosecution have been made, the more common tactics are intimidation[6] and threats to curtail funding. Any adjustment a library can make to reduce the chilling effect of those tactics is worth considering.

Thank you for a great question.

Tag:

Library Cards, Library Card Policy, Public Libraries, Policy