Librarians today have to deal with many controversial issues. One of these
issues is whether or not children will be allowed access to “adult” materials. I
believe that as a librarian, I should not allow children access to “adult”
materials because they are too young to decide for themselves, and they are
unable to access such materials elsewhere.
Children are at a vulnerable stage in life. They are still learning about the
world, and are too young to be able to make decisions about what they look at.
As mature adults, we are responsible to guide them in the right direction. When
they are old enough to choose for themselves, then they can choose whether or
not to view “adult” materials. At this stage of their development, however, they
are not equipped to decide, so we must decide for them.
In today’s society, in order to drink or smoke, a person must be a certain age.
In order to go to bars, or other places that alcohol is served, a person must be
a certain age. In order to rent “adult” movies, a person must be a certain age.
In all of these places, they have no problem with restricting their services to
adults. However, in libraries, some people get upset when librarians restrict
access of “adult” materials to adults only. We are only upholding the same
standard that the rest of the world upholds. Does it make any sense for a child
to be able to walk into an “adult” bookstore and buy a book? Of course not. So,
why would it make any sense for them to walk into a library and borrow an
“adult” book? That does not make any sense either. So, we are only doing the
same thing that the rest of the world does.
Children are a sensitive issue. They are the future of our country. As
librarians, we have a responsibility to shelter them and guide them until they
are of an age to make their own decisions. We need to enforce the standard that
the rest of the world enforces. Children need to be protected from materials
that could be potentially harmful to them, and since we have the power to do so,
we are responsible for doing it. Therefore, librarians should not allow children
access to “adult” materials.
Please Send All Comments Or Suggestions To: Ruth