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Ad Lib: Advocacy for Libraries

January 23, 2009

Are Libraries Going to Get a PG-13 Rating?

Under 12? No going into the library for you!

At least, that seems to be the fear:

A federal law that will soon go into effect could have some startling consequences, including the possible banning of children from libraries unless certain books are pulled from the shelves.

The law is called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act and it is designed to protect children all over the country from the dangers of lead.

Experts said there could be trace amounts of lead in books because of the ink. That’s why the government wants all books, old and new, tested for lead.

. . .

The law goes into effect on Feb. 10. After that day, all products for children under 12, including books, games, toys and even clothing, must be tested for lead.Critics argue lead testing is expensive. For a book it could between $300 and $600.

ALA is fighting this, of course, arguing that the cost of testing is prohibitive, and would result in either countless books being pulled from the shelves, or else kids under 12 not being allowed to enter the library.

There’s news, of a sort, on this issue that came yesterday from ALA’s Washington Office:

A public meeting was held January 22, and Cheryl Falvey, General Counsel for the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), stated that a decision should be made by the first week of February regarding libraries.  . . .

[W]e must let the CPSC know how important an issue this is to libraries.  … Explain to the Commission that it is simply impossible for libraries to remove all children’s books from the shelves and/or ban children under 12 from the library and still provide the level of service that is needed.

You can read the full action item here, which includes contact info for the CPSC’s acting commissioner, as well as specific talking points.

posted by Alan at 10:17 am | Comments (4)

4 Comments »

1. Comment by Lesley Williams, January 23, 2009 @ 3:27 pm

   
   

   See this letter from Cheryl Falvey, date January 15th

   http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/advisory/323.pdf

   Doesn’t this say libraries and book stores do NOT need to do additional testing?

   
   
2. Comment by alan, January 23, 2009 @ 4:08 pm

   
   

   I don’t know as I see that explicitly spelled out in that letter, Lesley, but I readily admit I may have glossed over the relevant text. I think that letter only addresses what responsibility publishers (and, through them, book retailers/distributors) will have with their materials going forward.

   It seems to me — and I’m still catching up on this issue, so I’m probably missing something — that ALA’s concern is more about books that have been published in the past; that they were made to meet previous standards, and it’s not clear who exactly has the responsibility to make sure that they also meet the current standards. (This would be especially confusing, I imagine, if the old books’ publishers have gone out of business.)

   
   
3. Comment by Melissa Henderson, January 27, 2009 @ 1:51 pm

   
   

   And it appears that children’s books DO need to be tested (see second paragraph of page 2 of letter dated 12/23/2008) , as well as all sorts of other materials that are in children’s departments (puzzles, toys, etc.)

   I’m really perplexed by how libraries are supposed to handle this..

   Melissa

   
   
4. Comment by Lisa Marie Smith, January 27, 2009 @ 4:53 pm

   
   

   We were told at ALA Midwinter this past weekend that the CPSC realizes what’s going on and has assured ALA that they will not enforce it when it comes to books. But that still means that the law needs to be changed so it’s not subject to interpretation. It also still leaves libraries open to the subject of liability lawsuits from consumers concerning untested books. I was told that the publishers are also lobbying Congress but we still need to continue to let our voices be heard. I encourage everyone to get involved, that means school libraries as well as publics. Resale shops are in the same boat as libraries and bookstores are at this time. I’m sure that this topic will be in the news very shortly.

   
   

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