Commentary

Concerns about Youth and Their Access to Materials on the Bookmobile

by Helen D. Gunderson, Gazette editor
July 11, 2002

At Gilbert’s last city council meeting, representatives of the Ames Public Library met with the council to discuss concerns raised by administrators of the Gilbert schools after a second-grader checked out two R-rated videos from the library’s Bookmobile. 

(A story about the issue appeared today in the Ames Tribune. There is also a summary of the discussion at the council meeting on this site.)

According to several informed sources, the library at Gilbert's elementary school is limited; therefore, it is greatly dependent on the Bookmobile. The school district and the city have an informal arrangement — the school provides a parking pad as well as utility and computer hookups, but the city pays for the contract with the library for the Bookmobile to serve the town.

Gina Millsap, director of the Ames library, began the conversation by saying, "We have a conflict between the mission of the school and the library." She explained that a school serves "in loco parentis" meaning that a school has parental authority over children while they are in school. In contrast, she said, the library’s mission is to provide access for people of all ages to a broad range of materials and that one of the library's key philosophies is to let "parents retain the right to parent."

The ensuing conversation was long and often tense. The mayor and council members were slow to see the library’s position and seemed to concur that it was merely common sense for the library staff to hide R-rated movies while children were on board. Some council members suggested that the library should change the way it operated the Bookmobile. At one point, K.C. Frescoln, president of the library board of trustees, responded that what the council was suggesting basically came down to censorship. Then he reiterated Gina’s point that, "as librarians, we stand for access." 

Later, a council member asked what the library’s response would be if the city created an ordinance restricting the access of youth to R-rated material. K.C. said the library trustees would then decide not to serve Gilbert.

It's unfortunate that the issue about youth and access to materials on the Bookmobile grew so big that it had to be brought before the city council. It’s also unfortunate that the discussion between the library and council was so tense and that there was any suggestion of discontinuing arrangements to have the popular Bookmobile serve the town.

It would seem that the school could easily have resolved its concern by providing supervision for children while visiting the Bookmobile. The library has made it clear that such supervision is welcome. The school could thereby fulfill its function of being "in loco parentis" and regulate the books and videos a child checks out.

It is curious that the school claims it does not have sufficient resources to provide supervision for students when they visit the Bookmobile. The Gilbert school district has the fortune of being one of the growing districts in the state, and people in the area are proud of the high quality of education the school provides. Why then, does the school not have the resources to supervise students when they use the Bookmobile?

The Bookmobile is in Gilbert only one afternoon a week and during only 2 1/2 hours while children are in school. So a big question is — "Why can’t a prestigious institution, such as the Gilbert schools, find the funds to pay one supervisor or recruit a volunteer for 2 1/2 hours per week to fill its institutional role as ‘in loco parentis’ and ensure parents, teachers, and children they will have continued access to the Bookmobile during the school day?" An even bigger question is — "Why doesn’t such a prestigious school have an elementary library (i.e. media center) that has sufficient staffing and material resources to fully serve its students with the level of excellence that is generally expected of the Gilbert schools?"

There was little need for the issue of access to materials on the Bookmobile to grow to the extent it did and involve the city council when the schools could have provided a simple solution. However, it never hurts to have a discussion about the services a community makes available to its citizens. Nor does it hurt to talk about issues such as censorship and the rights we are guaranteed under the First Amendment of the Constitution. Fortunately, when all is said and done, and even though the discussion between the library and council was often tense, the representatives of both organizations were professional, handled themselves well, and were doing what we expect of our leaders — engaging in discourse in the public arena about difficult issues. Indeed, their discussion was a fine example of democracy at work and a great learning experience.

The Gilbert school district has excellent administrators, teachers, other staff members, parents, and volunteers who are dedicated to making the schools as excellent as they are. However, it is an opportune time — with  the elementary library and the Bookmobile being front page news in the Ames paper — to ask school officials about the status of the library (media center) and find ways to make it as first rate as the Gilbert schools, as a whole, are perceived to be. After all, a library and its services are not peripheral to an educational program. Instead a library and access to information are at the heart of an educational institution — and vital for a democracy.

I am reminded of the quotation by Robert Parks, former president of Iowa State University, engraved at the main entrance of the Parks Library at Iowa State. He says, "The excellent library is the heart of the excellent university." Although a university library and an elementary school operate on a different scale with a different scope, the essence of education is the same for both. Here's to an excellent library at the heart of an excellent elementary school.
   

Note: This column was last revised on July 12, 2002.

Note also: The Ames Tribune wrote an editorial in its July 16th edition about the situation.