That is super fucked. Going to the library, grabbing a stack of comics, and then settling down in a quiet corner to read them was one of my happy places as a kid.
I had a library card, but I didn’t bother checking out stuff I could just read during the hours I hung out at the library. And the place was comfy, quiet heaven.
That letter makes it sound like sitting in the corner and reading stuff in the library is fine.
It seems to suggest that there are some shitty parents trying to use it as a free day care and letting their shitty kids trash the place, which only makes things more difficult for the kids trying to use it like a library.
I think people are getting angry at the symptom and not cause.
The cause is that children and teens don’t have anywhere to go, so they all went to the library. I imagine you have different groups of children/teenagers interacting with each other causing problems.
Instead of getting mad at the library, we all should be getting mad at community for not providing other options for children/teenagers to go. Places like skate parks, community centers, drop in programs, etc. places were children/teenagers can go hang out free.
Our local libraries literally encourage kids to loiter there. They have tons of programs, activities, and events throughout the week aimed at younger and older kids alike. There’s even sections dedicated to all demographics with toys for younger kids and anime/videogames/,etc for older kids.
That’s how it should be. As a childless 30 year old I want kids hanging out at libraries. Ideally I’d like them reading and discussing literature, but just being somewhere that they have access to information is better than not
I saw recently my local library has started to prohibit kids from simply hanging out at the library. Not all are the same.
Edit: context.
That is super fucked. Going to the library, grabbing a stack of comics, and then settling down in a quiet corner to read them was one of my happy places as a kid.
I had a library card, but I didn’t bother checking out stuff I could just read during the hours I hung out at the library. And the place was comfy, quiet heaven.
As someone who grew up in an unhappy home, I feel this.
That letter makes it sound like sitting in the corner and reading stuff in the library is fine.
It seems to suggest that there are some shitty parents trying to use it as a free day care and letting their shitty kids trash the place, which only makes things more difficult for the kids trying to use it like a library.
op just edited their comment. seems like just hanging out without reading books is not prohibited. reading books, be it comics and whatnot, is fine.
I think people are getting angry at the symptom and not cause.
The cause is that children and teens don’t have anywhere to go, so they all went to the library. I imagine you have different groups of children/teenagers interacting with each other causing problems.
Instead of getting mad at the library, we all should be getting mad at community for not providing other options for children/teenagers to go. Places like skate parks, community centers, drop in programs, etc. places were children/teenagers can go hang out free.
Edit: Cleaned up mobile typing errors
Our local libraries literally encourage kids to loiter there. They have tons of programs, activities, and events throughout the week aimed at younger and older kids alike. There’s even sections dedicated to all demographics with toys for younger kids and anime/videogames/,etc for older kids.
That’s how it should be. As a childless 30 year old I want kids hanging out at libraries. Ideally I’d like them reading and discussing literature, but just being somewhere that they have access to information is better than not
Time to get active in your community to fix that. Whoever came up with that policy should be fired.
Let’s not ignore that they seem to have an issue they’re trying to address with limited resources, also give them more resources
Might be local parents that pushed for it, honestly. It’s become a popular style of parenting. I call it the bonsai method.