Life’s choices are hard. The New York Times article about the Maplewood, NJ public library choosing to lock it’s doors and be accessible to NONE of it’s patrons instead of finding solutions for teenagers out of control is maddening. I do understand how terrible out of control people can be. I live with 4 teenagers. Yet, they are patrons. They are people. They have needs. They are seeking something. Is the problem every teenager? The library is providing a space, but the parents and community haven’t provided the needed support for the library staff to maintain order. Will the closing of this library force the community to change? Will the ill-will towards the library board for choosing to close go away? Will the teenagers stand together and self-monitor to regain their rights?
Recently I searched youtube for videos of libraries. Some of the worst examples of teenagers manipulating adults were evident. You could see some teens hiding in the stacks to use their camera phones to capture other teens deliberately provoking library staff by setting off loud ring tones. What would you do? How much would you take? What has gone wrong?
If those were my boys, I’d want someone to let me know so I could march in there and remind them of wedgy wars! I know my children are not angels. I wish they were. Whenever I hear they have been disrespectful, I deal with them. We talk about the phrase “it takes a village to raise a child”. That attitude only works if everyone agrees about the end results. We want to raise civilized people. We want citizens who love libraries. We want the community to value and support us. We want an atmosphere that appeals to everyone. We do not want discrimination against many because of one. I have to wonder what is happening in their school libraries?!
As for the youtube videos, let’s get out there and start adding GOOD VIDEOS and good messages. Flood youtube with positive images of libraries and replace the bad ones that come up first. Let’s take action.
