Upset Parent

Over a month ago, someone posted to the listserv an article from the Orlando Sentinel. The article was discussing a woman who checked out four popular fiction books in 2008 and refused to return them to her public library. The popular fiction books that Tina Harden checked out were Gossip Girl and It Girl books. Apparently, the mom checked them out and later found them to be inappropriate for her daughter and young girls everywhere! The mom had accrued a balance of $85.00, due to late fees at the Seminole County Public Library in Orlando Florida.

In an attempt to bargain with the library, Harden requested that the books be kept out of the hands of minors (Jackson, 2010). She wanted to see warnings about certain content as well as age restrictions on borrowing (Jackson, 2010). When the library said it would reshelve the books in the adult-section but wouldn’t restrict them further, Harden decided to keep the books (Jackson, 2010).

Naturally, this story garnered a lot of attention from the media and caused many parents to speak out. They argued that if Tina Harden didn’t want her daughter to have access to certain books that was her choice. They continued adding that Harden didn’t have the authority to decide what their children read as well as the fact that the books were public property. One man even donated some replacement books to the library, and others promised to send in checks or books to replace what Harden refused to return.

Well, I guess Tina Harden had a change of heart because shortly after this story broke she returned the books. Her reason: “There was a certain amount of good that could come from me holding the books to make a statement, and I felt like that was achieved.” “I feel like I had done my part to help focus attention on this (Jackson, 2010).” Yippee, suddenly Tina Harden has become the voice behind what's an appropriate young adult collection at a public library?!

What most irritates me about this entire ordeal, besides the fact that this parent refused to return library books for two years, is her refusal to also pay her library fines. She said that she hopes the library will waive the fines (Jackson, 2010). Harden continues adding, “It’s not that I lost the books or I didn’t feel like turning them in (Jackson, 2010).” Seminole County Library Services Manager Jane Peterson said that the library system could not forgive the fines (Jackson, 2010).

Final Thoughts: After refusing to return books back to a public library for two years, the parent has a change of heart and decides to return them. Interestingly enough, her crusade to bring attention to the Gossip Girl series and other books that closely resemble similar themes came to a halt once she felt her point had been made. It’s not a big deal that she disapproved of the books because she clearly has the right to decide what her children will or will not read. Instead, she kept public property thus prohibiting others from using what didn’t lawfully belong to her. Now that she’s finished advocating for age appropriate young adult literature in public libraries, she believes that her library fines should be waived...give me a break! I would recommend that this parent take some time to familiarize herself with a little thing called Intellectual Freedom. Perhaps this will give her some insight as to her rights as a parent and as a patron using the Public Library.

References

Jackson, R. (2010, May 7). Gossip girl-inspired books returned to public library. Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved from http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/features_momsatwork/?p=5356