This was posted on a local board I am on:

what do folks think about "parental consent" for teens wanting to check out certain books? our library has the gossip girl books.
http://www.foxnews.com/search-result...ossip+girls%22

Here is my comment but I would like to know what you guys think:

I don't agree with what these parents are asking for. What I DO think is that the books should be moved to the regular section of the library or bookstores and not be in the "youth" section.

Growing up, I knew TONS of girls (12+) who read "trashy romance" novels. The same books their mothers were reading. I detest them personally but the ones I have seen or read parts of were MUCH more sexually descriptive than what these mothers are ranting about. I also know a lot of kids (me included) read Stephen King as a young teen and I remember a very sexually explicit scene in "IT". Teens don't need permission to get romance novels or horror novels and often, they are worse than what these moms are complaining about. That's just my 2 cents though. I've seen books on "growing up" in the "youth" section at Barnes & Noble that some would view as porn (I know because I've read the reviews online at Amazon when thinking about a particular purchase).

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I agree with you.

I am very conservative, but when it comes to books I am a little different. I don't know the entire series, I have never heard of it. The one line they showed on Fox was interesting, but not enough for me to want to ban it. I can remember reading trash novels as a teenager. I simply walked over to the romance section and read whatever I wanted. I think the mention of sex in a novel is the least of parents concerns. Now television to me is an entirely different matter. It is one thing to read it in a book and quite another to see it acted on television.

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I have a 12 yo DD (13 tomorrow ) and I only limit her on a few books.( wont say the books because don't care for a debate- fight on them here ) She is allowed to read what she wants.. She has heard worse if not more from the TV, School kids and I'm sure from Utube at times. My grandfather held the same views, He believed as long as the child is reading all is good.. My Aunt has read romance novels since she was a teen ( she's in her 50's now ). My DD doesn't really care for them .. only known her to read 1 and she didn't like it too much. But I'm a open mom with my kids and there's probably not much they don't know or we have not told them including sex, and growing up..

But that is just us..

Now on the other hand, If parents find the contents of the books a little too advance for their child it might be a good thing to have the permission slips.

I think parental consent for teens is too much. Pre-teens, maybe. But if the book is that explicit, what's it doing in the youth section anyway?

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Reading is Fundamental.

If you ban a kid from reading a book, it will only make them want to read it even more. Even if they aren't reading it at home, they'll find way to read it.
I don't think moving the books from the youth section to the regular section will do much of anything. If a kid wants to read something they'll find a way.

I think like sunsetbeach, we let out kids read what they wanted, within reason. At least for us, we didn't seem to have an issue with the books being inappropriate for their age group at the time. They are now all young adults so it's moot. And she's right, they are hearing & seeing much worse at school.

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I too don't think moving the books out of the youth section will prevent them from reading it BUT then at least if a parent goes with their children to the youth section (as it appears these moms did), they wouldn't find books with that content). I don't disallow my kids from reading any books either and both are avid readers although only 8 and 10 at this point. I also agree that TV can be much worse.

I was amazed at the number of moms on our local chat board who wanted their kids to get permission to get these kinds of books. It made me think "no wonder we aren't friends" LOL They probably can't stand me

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I can't imagine a Public library ever banning these or any other books and would be extremely surprised if they asked for signed permission slips to read any books available in the library. Where does the line get drawn? The kids need a permission slip to read a _Gossip Girl_ novel but what about _Our Bodies, Ourselves_ or any other of a myriad of books that parents might object to? If these parents are worried about what their kids are reading then they need to talk it over with their kids at home and make some family rules pertaining to reading material - don't expect the librarians to take care of this issue, it's a family/parenting issue.

I was an avid and advanced reader, reading well above my grade level and during the summer if I hadn't had access to the entire library I would have been bored to tears. The librarian would suggest books but she never told me not to read one that I picked out. It was not a very big library and it didn't take me long to go through the entire library. I read many adult books and it did me no harm. I can't imagine limiting a kid who wants to read. How can they recognize the bad in books if they are never confronted with it? How can they find the joy in books unless they plow through some trash to get to the gems? Anything that keeps them reading is good, even if it's bad.

I didn't watch the video, but I'm assuming the parents want the library to help them police what their kids take out of the library. I don't want my tax dollars going to that kind of nonsense. If the parents are concerned, then they should not allow their kids to have a library card and just check out the books that they think are appropriate for their kids. (And while they're at it, buy a plastic bubble for the kid to live in.)

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No book should be banned. Teenagers should be able to check out any book that they want to.

One of the mothers tried to get Bridge to Terabithia banned when my son was in elementary because it had the word, "damn." Go figure.

It isn't up to the library to police what your kids read. Monitor your kids, or don't....it is up to you.

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Just to clarify a point here, this is not about book banning. This issue is about what two moms perceive to be sexually explicit books in the youth section at the public library.

I say it's as simple as parents knowing what their children are reading. Permission slips to check out certain books?? That's just silly IMHO.

Ok sorry I didn't look at the link that sexysmurf posted, but now I have.. Am I to understand that book held up at the end is the front cover ?? If so I would think that any parent would already know it probably will contain subjects that might be too advance for their YOUNG preteen.. It shows a girl and boy kissing.. so maybe I'm not seeing it for what it's worth.. But I would think that any 12-15 year old hmm will already know the birds and bees and I can assure that they "talk" about it too with their friends... But I also understand where these 2 ladies are coming from tho.. They don't want the books removed just placed in the teen or adult section seems reasonable to me given the passage that was read in the interview.. I can understand their concerns where a young boy- girl might read this book thats noway gear to their age group... I guess it really is up to a parent to " make sure" what your child is reading and check out whether public or the school library.

But I still wouldn't have a problem with my 12 yo reading this even at the age of 10 she would have been allowed too. I see no difference in her "talking" about it with friends at school than "reading" about it in a book. All goes back to us being open with the kids and explaining the birds and bees to them at a young age maybe.

I agree. I know how much I loved to read back then, and I appreciated having been given the freedom to read what I wanted.

I do think the libraries need to be careful what they put into the "Young Adult" section. But the more fuss made of a particular book/series, the more appealing it can seem...

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Amen!

While I can certainly understand where these two ladies are coming from, it isn't their place to decide what other peoples teens are allowed to read. It's called intellectual freedom and it is part of the American Library Associations Library Bill of Rights. They can fight it all they want, but if it is a large municipal library they will never win. Now if it is a small town library then the library director may give in just to end the ruckus. Censorship is a hot topic in the library world!

Btw, how many of you read Judy Blume's "Forever" while in middle school? Now there's a sexually explicit book!

I loved "Forever" when I was a young teen. I also read tons of Stephen King books and lots of other trash and I turned out fine.

Our local library has dvds and I'd have no problem with kids under a certain age not being allowed to borrow R-rated movies or M-rated tv shows without parental permission. As far as books go, I might be ok with limits on really adult items such as graphic sex manuals(Karma Sutra and the like)or things such as The Anarchists Cookbooknot being available to young kids but other than that type of stuff, no limits should be in place.

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I agree. I am just wondering if these moms who have a problem with the books also have a problem with their daughters watching the show on tv (or dvd) IMO I would not have a problem if my oldest daughter wanted to read the books, my youngest is only 8 so she isn't at the age for it just yet.

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I don't think permission should be required, but it's fine to put it in the teen section if the book belongs there.
I was just thinking about "Forever" and I couldn't remember who wrote it but I read it at about that age (middle school). And I always knew plenty of girls who read the bodice ripper romance books along with their moms. My mom and I were never into those books but I was allowed to read whatever I wanted from the library, we often went to a local library several times a week and we were always encouraged to read whatever we wished.

I work as a assistant children's librarian. It would not work for permission slips to be signed by parents/young adults. In our childrens room, some internet sites are blocked, but in the whole rest of the library the computers are not blocked. People can pull up anything on the internet and do. We do not have any sort of a ban as to what books can be checked out on anyone's card. A young adult can check out a book that is meant for an adult. Those parents are not being realistic. There isn't enough staff to monitor these sorts of things. Libraries are operating on a very tight budget these days as do most businesses.

What I am saying is that a library card can be used to check out anything in the library. There are many questionable books and movies and parents have to monitor their family. Try doing a search under the heading "erotica" at your library and see what comes up. You'd be surprised, and that is just one word search, if you know what mean. There are others.

We are not a babysitting service although some people think so. I've had children as young as 2 come into the large childrens room unattended. We find the parents and they are warned that you have to be at least 9 to be unattended. A library is a very public building. We get more than our share of weirdos that you would not want your children exposed to.

Parents do not think. The library seems like a very safe place but we can not be everywhere. We had a man "having fun all by himself" at a computer last week in the adult area. I am on library groups where we share ideas for programming and such. Kids are grabbed by strangers in libraries and molested -- and it happens more than you think. People try to have sex in the restrooms, or quiet corners. Don't let your children go to the restroom unattended either.

I love my job and I work in a wonderful library. I very much enjoy helping a child find just the right book or how to find something on the computer. However, I am not the child's parent and every family has different rules for their children. I am truely shocked at how some parents do not watch or monitor their children. We had over 2100 people come thru the library on Monday, and over 2400 on Wednesday. We can't be every place and watching everything that happens. With the economy being so bad, our numbers are up more than ever. The library is the best deal in town.

We have tornado warning sirens going off. I hope this post makes sense. I'm sitting in the basement typing. :-) Near 2 litter boxes. Yippee.

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OMG. Gross.

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If you are going to need a note from mommy & daddy to read these Gossip Girl books, then you might as well need a note from mommy & daddy to read any book in the public library. Absolutely rediculous.