[Publib] a fresh, new nugget for people to chew on about

[Kathleen Stipek]

I promised myself I wouldn't get involved, but this touches a nerve.  We
cannot always assume that the parents were paying attention or otherwise
acting responsibly.  Everyone who works a public service desk has seen
children left at the library without parents or unattended while the
parent is absorbed in a project.  In less time than it takes to tell, a
child can be snatched or go outside and be hit by a car in the parking
lot.  And who will be blamed?  The library, of course.  The local TV
station(s) will have the sobbing mother on the evening news wailing that
she thought her baby was safe in the library. Sometimes the parent is
either fully at fault or shares in the responsibility for what happened.
Yes, the parent is distraught when something bad happens, and properly
so, but that does not eliminate the blame for neglecting to do his or
her duty by the child. Libraries do all they can to promote the safety
of their patrons, but the patrons, including the parents, must also take
some responsibility for themselves and their children.

Kathleen Stipek
Alachua County Library District
401 East University Avenue
Gainesville, Florida 32601
(352-334-3931) fax (352-334-3948)

--Non, merci.
  Cyrano de Bergerac
  

-----Original Message-----
From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org
[mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Kate Mossman
Sent: Saturday, February 02, 2008 12:51 PM
To: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: Re: [Publib] a fresh, new nugget for people to chew on about

I'm sorry, but I'm horrified by the implication that this boy's rape is
the fault of the parent. Comments like "And the people that get "blamed"
never seem to be the parents" and "It's an excellent argument why people
shouldn't let their children go to the library unsupervised" feel not
just callous but a little too familiar--it's just the "she shouldn't
have been walking down that dark alley alone in the first place"
argument, repackaged. Is this really what we want our profession to say
in response to this awful crime? That parents coming to the library must
supervise their children lest something terrible happen???!!! It's not
fair to blame the victim, nor is it fair to blame the victim's parent.
The man who committed this crime is to blame, whoever he is. Can we have
some empathy for the victim and not make this about those bothersome,
irresponsible internet users? 

--Kate
(my opinions are my own)

Message: 19
Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2008 18:48:41 -0500 (EST)
From: Sue Kamm <suekamm at mindspring.com>
Subject: Re: [Publib] a fresh, new nugget for people to chew on about
	how	libraries....
To: Phalbe Henriksen <phenriksen at cox.net>, publib at webjunction.org
Message-ID:
	
<23533880.1201909721513.JavaMail.root at mswamui-chipeau.atl.sa.earthlink.n
et>
	
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

Saw that.  It's an excellent argument why people shouldn't let their
children go to the library unsupervised.

-----Original Message-----
>From: Phalbe Henriksen <phenriksen at cox.net>
>Sent: Feb 1, 2008 6:25 PM
>To: publib at webjunction.org
>Subject: [Publib] a fresh, new nugget for people to chew on about how
libraries....
>
>whatever they want to argue about.
>
>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22956688/
>
>Phalbe Henriksen
>at home
>

At 06:48 PM 2/1/2008, Sue Kamm wrote:
>Saw that.  It's an excellent argument why people shouldn't let their 
>children go to the library unsupervised.

Yeah. But it's more than that. It's about why people shouldn't go to the
library to do something (like get on the internet) and totally ignore
their child/children. (Or go anywhere else and totally ignore their
child/children.)

I don't think this is just about "we don't act in loco parentis" that
librarians have to accept, given the open nature of libraries and the
staffing levels. I think it's a much broader societal problem of parents
taking their children wherever they need to go and then not supervising
them. It seems to be rampant. And the people that get "blamed" never
seem to be the parents.

Phalbe
still at home


Message: 23
Date: Sat, 2 Feb 2008 07:42:45 -0500
From: subs itoors <subs at itoors.com>
Subject: [Publib] Boy raped in Boston library...NY Times
To: publib at webjunction.org
Message-ID: <5B03CE25-45F6-4C79-A05A-F89BBC2C6756 at itoors.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=WINDOWS-1252; format=flowed;
	delsp=yes

This is dedicated to the person who said that the last time something
bad happened to kids in libraries was in 1874 or something like that and
sees no issues with adults in the kids section of the library.

This is from today's New York Times:

Sex Offender Accused of Raping Boy, 6, in Public Library

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