Ohio library requires students to be accompanied by a parent

by Jay Allen (Subscribe to Jay Allen's posts) Jan 7th 2006 6:22PM

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Wickliffe Public Library - the Wright Memorial Reading Room

If you're planning to send your kids to the library to get them out of the house, here's hoping you don't live in Wickliffe, Ohio. The Wickliffe Public Library in the suburbs of Cleveland has responded to youth vandalism and disorderly conduct by barring any student under 14 who shows up without a parent between 2:30pm and 5:30pm. You know - immediately after school. I'm sure parents whose kids go straight to the library until mom or dad gets off work just love that idea.

This kind of approach to "solving" problems makes my skin crawl. It's just like in elementary school, where the teacher made everyone put their heads down on the desks if even one student was misbehaving. Indeed, as the article notes, other libraries have handled the problem by hiring a security guard, or recruiting a parent or retired patron to act as a monitor. So how about it, Wickliffe? Why not try one of these solutions, instead of treating all of your kids like babies?

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Comments (10)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Ann Adams 1-07-2006 @ 9:25PM

We're going after gnats with an elephant gun once again. How can we stress the importance of reading and study out ofone side of our mouth and then ban kids from libraries.

Mamacita 1-08-2006 @ 2:51AM

Our library had such a problem with parents using it as free day care, and then not picking their children up until long after closing time, that the librarians now call the police if there are children 'left over' at closing time, and the parents have to explain to the officials why their children were left unattended in a public place. I have no problem whatsoever with older children who are quiet and well-behaved and who are actually using the library for study and reading, but little kids who run and shout and require care have no place in the library without a parent. The librarians are not anyone's day care providers; they have a job to do and caring for someone's children for hours is not fair.

I do not think that libraries who invoke such policies wish to prevent children from reading and studying; they are merely trying to keep our children safe, and trying to insure that the library is a place where people CAN study and read in peace.

The library is NOT a day care center. Nor should it be.

Jason 1-08-2006 @ 9:01AM

Parents who use the library as free after school care are being irresponsible. Children under 14 shouldn't be left anywhere unattended. There are too many perverts in the world these days. What happens if your friendly neighborhood sex-offender picks up on all these lonely children in the library and abducts one of them?

I think the library's doing the right thing.

Amy 1-08-2006 @ 3:16PM

There are a lot of parents in my community who use the library as a day care. I won't even go to the library between 3:30 and 5:30 because it is overrun with kids whose parents tell them to go there until they get off work. If the kids all came in and sat down and studied, then there wouldn't be a problem. But that is not the case. I don't think it's fair to the library workers, and I don't think it's fair to other library patrons.

The public library is not a day care. Parents need to either hire a sitter or find a nice neighbor.

Maryanne 1-09-2006 @ 10:48AM

A young girl was recently sexually assaulted by an older boy in a library bathroom in my community. There is a real danger to unsupervised children.

Children under 14 shouldn't be left alone in a public place. Parents are being irresponsible to expect librarians to supervise their children.

In fact, the Wicklife Public Library is doing the right thing. They know they can't supervise unattended children. They want to protect their assets from vandalism.

And as for paid security guards.... libraries shouldn't have to pay money to hire someone to supervise children. The money is for books and materials, not a babysitter for other people's kids.

Jay Allen 1-09-2006 @ 1:17PM

Sorry, guys, I don't think an 11 or 12 year old needs to be "babysat". I hung out at the library all the time at that age while my mom worked. No one had to babysit me. I sat down quietly, read books, typed stories on the computer, etc. I kept myself busy, and quiet.

If sexual predators are a problem, then we should be asking what we can do as a community to make our kids safer - not tucking them away with a "babysitter" when they're perfectly capable of caring for themselves.

Laura Petric 1-09-2006 @ 4:38PM

I am a parent of a Middle School student living in Wickliffe . I moved here a year ago next month and was dismayed to say the least, if not shocked, to find that the latch key program in the Elementary School did not extend to Middle School students. When I inquired at the Middle School about an after school program, I was told that there was little or no interest , or participation. Not having family here it was a scramble to find someone to watch my daughter. Its true the library is not a daycare facility and yes at times it was quite rowdy but I think this solution is far too harsh. One wonders, why isn't there an after school program? We have a senior Center ,why not a youth center? How much of the taxes that I am paying is supporting the Senior Center? We just dropped the recycling program maybe we can channel some of that funding into fining a solution. The children are as vital to this community as are our Seniors. Many of the comments condemn the parents who leave their children at the library but the truth is that in order to survive financially both parents must work and what job that pays enough to even balance the gas bill is willing to work around the hours needed to properly care for children. The parents find themselves with a hard decision. I know because I face it everyday and I have been on dozens of interviews.

Kelly 1-10-2006 @ 1:08AM

I also live in Wickliffe, and I support the library's decision 100%! My daughter (who is in elementary school)and I stopped visiting the library after school because of all the middle schoolers hanging out there. We stopped going because it was too crowded, and because I felt uncomfortable entering the building due to the bad language and groping (yes, groping!) that was going on by these unsupervised kids. For those reasons alone, I am thankful for the new policy. I had no idea of all the vandalism that was also taking place! Its downright shameful. And, yes, it all comes down to the parents. Parents, watch your kids! Or PAY someone to supervise them! The school didn't tell you to have children, and neither did the city or the library, so don't expect them to watch your kids after school. If you think there should be a school or city program, get together with other parents, come up with an idea, and make it happen. Latchkey was offered; no one wanted it. I understand that both parents need to work to pay the bills. I'm a single parent, I work full time, and I pay a sitter to watch my daughter 10 hours a day. Make arrangements to have someone watch yours for the two or three hours til you get home. And in the mean time, be grateful that we have the award winning library that we have.

Laura 1-10-2006 @ 10:37AM

To clarify, I agree that the Wickliffe Library had to take some kind of action. I also agree that for a parent to think in this day and age that leaving a child (and they are still children in middle school) at a public place for any amount of time, is a bad decision. I too had to rearrange my schedule and make many sacrifices , but there are as many different scenarios that families face as there are families in the community. Wickliffe Library has been dealing with this situation for a year and four months now ( hmm and how long has bussing been gone�and how many other school districts don�t have bussing for middle school children) and something needed to be done. I just believe that a blanket decision was too drastic. I also don�t think �brow- beating� the parents is a solution. There is however a fundamental problem and whether it speaks to the decline of the American Family or the ever shifting economy and job market or the widening gap between the haves� and have- nots, it IS a problem that needs to be addressed , as a community.

Mike the Librarian 1-10-2006 @ 10:48AM

This attitude ... "If you're planning to send your kids to the library to get them out of the house" ... is the reason the Wickliffe library was forced to institute the policy. Parents want to pass off their parenting responsibility by sending kids somewhere they don't want to be.

If kids are being sent to the library simply because their parents don't want them around, they will be the ones causing problems. Sure, the Wickliffe policy is heavy-handed. But if parents have the attitude such as Jay Allen has, that the library is a day-care center and a place to send their kids when the parents are tired of them, you'll end up with this situation over and over again.