Власти округа Мохава планируют ввести родительский контроль за выдачей книг детям

Privacy and parental control to be discussed in proposed library policies Minors’ borrowing records have always been treated as confidential within the Mohave County Library District, but that could change under new policies that would apply direct parental control over what children may or may not borrow. The Mohave County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to discuss those new policies next week, following debate earlier this year as to how the library could restrict access by minors to books, DVDs, video games or other media that may be deemed inappropriate for their age groups. At the center of the new proposed library policies is parental control: Any person younger than 18 will require the presence of a parent or guardian to receive or renew a library card, with borrowing privileges to be determined by parents. Library borrowing privileges for digital and physical items under the new changes would be classified under three tiers: Child Access (for children 0-12); Teen Access (13-17) and Full Access. That access may be modified by parents as they see fit, with parents having sole discretion as to whether a minor may be able to borrow materials containing mature subject matter. Parents made responsible for oversight Existing policies under the Mohave County Library District apply to minors, and protect them from disclosure. But the proposed changes would give parents full access to any records relating to their children. The new policies would shift oversight of what minors borrow from the library to parents themselves, instead of applying policies that would censor books and other library materials outright - something that would fall in opposition to the library’s existing stance against direct censorship. Parents would be able to suspend or cancel a minor’s account, obtain information about borrowed material and receive notifications as to what material their children are checking out. Some of that capability already exists, however: as of this month, parents already have the ability to link children’s library accounts to their own, and receive email notifications when material is borrowed. Access to ideas versus parental control Three existing policies under the library district were adopted in 1998, reflecting principles applied by the American Library Association. Those policies include challenges against censorship and the free access to ideas; the library’s mission to provide the “broadest access to film, video or other audiovisual materials” as a means for the communication of ideas; the protection of confidentiality for borrowers; and statements against the endorsement of private rating systems for age-sensitive material. The existing policies already apply to minors, and protect all library users. Under the new proposed rule changes, the county would have the option of adding the addendum, “unless superseded by local controls” to any of those provisions. The county’s efforts to reform library borrowing standards for minors stems from a request by the county’s governing board in March, as supervisors sought to reconcile Arizona’s library record confidentiality statutes with parental rights. The proposed reforms cite state statute in reference to parental access: “Pursuant to the Arizona Parents’ Bill of Rights, parents and legal guardians possess the fundamental right to access and review all records relating to their minor child,” the proposed privacy policy revision says. “To facilitate this right in compliance with state library statutes, a parent or guardian must sign the library card registration application for his or her minor child or ward. By signing the application and assuming financial responsibility … the parent or legal guardian is expressly authorized to access and review all library records pertaining to the minor or ward.” County could decide Monday County officials aren’t planning to ban books or directly restrict access to materials: They’re restructuring the relationship between minors, their parents and the library. Next week, the Mohave County Board of Supervisors is expected to weigh longstanding principles derived from the American Library Association and almost 30 years of library policy against parental rights. That discussion will take place Monday, at the board’s next meeting in Kingman.