Here’s a column from the Rocky Mountain News regarding the issue. Yes, there’s a difference of opinion but in one case, the author just gets it flat-out wrong:
“Libraries, like schools, are obliged to act in loco parentis – in place of responsible parents – to safeguard kids. “
Schools are required to act in loco parentis because the children are required to be ther by law. Children are not legally required to be in the library, nor are we babysitters. Yes, a librarian may want to act in loco parentis but they are not obliged to.
Michael Sauers is currently the Director of Technology for Do Space in Omaha, NE. Michael has been training librarians in technology for the past twenty years and has also been a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library friends group, a reference librarian, serials cataloger, technology consultant, and bookseller since earning his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany’s School of Information Science and Policy. Michael has also written dozens of articles for various journals and magazines and his fourteenth book, Emerging Technologies: A Primer for Librarians (w/ Jennifer Koerber) was published in May 2015 and more books are on the way. In his spare time he blogs at travelinlibrarian.info, runs The Collector’s Guide to Dean Koontz Web site, takes many, many photos, and typically reads more than 100 books a year.
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