butters
High on a Hill
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2009
- Posts
- 85,672
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/i...bc2b4c7c5a64315b4e868d041fc811d&ei=30#image=1
Particularly, the smaller libraries... they're being forced to either close or ban children altogether from entering the premises. This is disgusting... removing the ability for children to access public libraries, a world, a wealth of knowledge for free. Words cannot express how mad this makes me.
The books in question don't even have to be cited to authorities by someone living in the state!
I don't know about others here, but would imagine that a lot of you who are writers of any kind spent a fair amount of time in free libraries as a child. The one I spent many an hour in had sections labeled 'children/adult' with further ones for general consumption of teens and young adults. I couldn't check out books for the older sections as a kid, but as a teenager had access to most adult books that I took full advantage of.
I honestly have to say I learned far more from the breadth and wealth of books I was able to read at a fairly young age than my own general education had time to teach me, and was also very lucky to have access to material such as LOTR and all the classic British literature (even some French), and American offerings, too. It broadened my knowledge, my understanding of topics and people, my interest in multiple subjects, and it encouraged my thirst for knowledge. ALL AT NO COST to a kid from a poor family. The library kept me safe, it was a world of wonder to me I could acces first with other family but then, from about the age of 9, on my own: not just reading books while I was there, in the peaceful environment I didn't have at home (very noisy, very busy home with 7 kids) but the enormous globes... maps taller than me that I could spin and experience all the obscure names, the shapes, mountains and oceans and continents. There were two, one of the older world with the older names, and one depicting newer names and borders for countries across the world. I would read books on the mile walk home, and devour books late into the night as well as during the day.
It is WRONG to deny such knowledge from children. Simple as that.
Particularly, the smaller libraries... they're being forced to either close or ban children altogether from entering the premises. This is disgusting... removing the ability for children to access public libraries, a world, a wealth of knowledge for free. Words cannot express how mad this makes me.
It's the inability of (especially) smaller libraries to make sure the books deemed 'obscene' are isolated (through space/staffing) in the face of massive fines for non-compliance that is seeing children being banned from libraries, ID to establish age if under 20 (30 in some cases) and the complete closure of libraries.
The books in question don't even have to be cited to authorities by someone living in the state!
I don't know about others here, but would imagine that a lot of you who are writers of any kind spent a fair amount of time in free libraries as a child. The one I spent many an hour in had sections labeled 'children/adult' with further ones for general consumption of teens and young adults. I couldn't check out books for the older sections as a kid, but as a teenager had access to most adult books that I took full advantage of.
I honestly have to say I learned far more from the breadth and wealth of books I was able to read at a fairly young age than my own general education had time to teach me, and was also very lucky to have access to material such as LOTR and all the classic British literature (even some French), and American offerings, too. It broadened my knowledge, my understanding of topics and people, my interest in multiple subjects, and it encouraged my thirst for knowledge. ALL AT NO COST to a kid from a poor family. The library kept me safe, it was a world of wonder to me I could acces first with other family but then, from about the age of 9, on my own: not just reading books while I was there, in the peaceful environment I didn't have at home (very noisy, very busy home with 7 kids) but the enormous globes... maps taller than me that I could spin and experience all the obscure names, the shapes, mountains and oceans and continents. There were two, one of the older world with the older names, and one depicting newer names and borders for countries across the world. I would read books on the mile walk home, and devour books late into the night as well as during the day.
It is WRONG to deny such knowledge from children. Simple as that.
