[Publib] Library Closing for "after school hours"

[Whitewright Public Library]

At 09:40 AM 1/3/2007, myp_chan at yahoo.com wrote:
>Did the library in Maplewood have a security guard? From the article it 
>doesn't sound like it, but I would think that's an obvious way to handle 
>this type of problem.

The article doesn't mention it, but if you go to the library's web site and 
read the message from the library board 
<http://www.maplewoodlibrary.org/message.htm>, you'll see this isn't the 
first step, but the last grab at the end of the rope. One of the steps 
taken was to hire "after-school monitors to help with crowd control and 
behavior issues" as well as "worked closely with school officials and law 
enforcement."

>Closing the library so students won't come in sounds like discrimination 
>to me. Alienating an entire age group doesn't bode well for the future 
>when those kids become taxpayers and voters. Will they be supportive of 
>the library then? I sure wouldn't.

If you'll read the message above, this hasn't actually started, and won't 
until the 16th, and is not intended to be permanent. I get the impression 
it's a last-ditch "shame" tactic -- shame the kids causing problems (if 
they're capable of it) and shame parents who think library = free childcare 
(again, if they're capable of shame). I wouldn't be surprised if the 
situation is fixed before the new rule goes into effect, or if it does 
happen, it will only last a week or two.

Chris Ely

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Whitewright Public Library, Whitewright, Texas
<www.whitewright.lib.tx.us>  <wwpl at texoma.net>
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