Jam-packed in a late afternoon session today, librarians gathered to learn more about minor privacy rights in public and school libraries. Intellectual freedom issues are not restricted to adults, especially with the rapidly changing technology and digital landscape of today. The session was aptly entitled “So, are you going to tell my parents?”. Protection of minor’s circulation records, internet and digital data, as well as their actual physical presence in the library were all up for discussion.
Coming away from the session I felt a weighty sense of responsibility for the young patrons I serve and lots of questions to investigate once I come home. For example, what are my state’s laws and statutes that protect minors in the library? Does my library fall in line with COPPA? What exactly did my own library say in their privacy policy and are my co-workers familiar with it? These are the sorts of questions that today’s session on minor’s privacy and intellectual freedom in the library left us with as tools to think on and use to become better educated intellectual freedom activists for children and teens.
Children and youth services librarians are uniquely situated to serve as educated advocates in their own libraries and communities. We are lucky to have the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund to serve as incredible resources, the session kindly reminded us. There’s even information about responding to and dealing with ICE in the library. Don’t wait until there’s an issue, brush up on this now! I sure know I’ll be!