Orange County Libraries Ban "Unaccompanied" Adults From Kids' Area

Orange County Libraries Ban "Unaccompanied" Adults From Kids' Area

POSTED: 7:58 am EST November 23, 2004
UPDATED: 8:05 am EST November 23, 2004
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Orange County Library System is barring "unaccompanied" adults from lingering in the children's areas of its 14 branches, a policy that is among the first of its kind in the nation.

As of Nov. 1, adults without children may select items in the children's section, but they cannot read books or loiter in the department, said Marilyn Hoffman, community-relations coordinator.

Adults may visit the teen-oriented "Club Central" section of the downtown library with their kids, but they may enter only with a librarian if they are alone.

Officials with the Association for Library Service to Children said many libraries limit adults' use of computers or bathrooms in their children's departments, but Orange County's policy could be the first in the nation to restrict adults' presence the areas.

"It's not a common trend, but I think it's going to become more common," said Cynthia Richey, the association's immediate past president. "It's, in part, a pre-emptive move."



http://www.local6.com/news/3941978/detail.html

And everybody is a pedophile until proven otherwise.

Thank God I am in Brazil. We're much less fucked up about this.

Just before they decide it's too much trouble and haul all those books outside to burn them and give the buildings to a "Jeebus' Holy Warrior's Marching Association" or something....

With all of the concern about pedophiles and child snatching, I'm surprised this isn't a more widespread policy. I've read online and offline of cases where parents use the library as a babysitter, leaving kids there for hours. Our local library now has a policy that unclaimed kids that are there at closing-they call the police.

Let's not forget that many libraries due to budget cuts are increasingly understaffed, so there are even fewer adults keeping watch and circulating around readers. There used to be more library aides who stacked books and who were a deterrent due to their presence. I bet that budget cuts have severely cut into that number.

Libraries cannot screen or exclude people either without compromising their mission, meaning they cannot guarantee that everyone entering is necessarily safe. There have been thefts and even murders at some libraries. A young child doesn't realize that, so someone who is seemingly friendly comes up to them and asks them what they are reading and before you know it, strikes up a conversation. It seems so innocent to them because it isn't "the scary streets" or "stranger in a car" to them.

Kitchener Library

In late 1994 and 1995, the Kitchener Public Library had developed serious problems with sexual deviants attracted to one wing of its interior. Over the course of a year and a half, the library experienced approximately seventeen incidents in which several men used the stacks as cover to expose and fondle themselves in front of library customers. When an incident occurred involving a thirteen-year-old girl, distraught library officials requested police foot patrols inside the property. These local police, aware of Peel's CPTED program, turned to the Crime Prevention Services Unit for an assessment of the property.

The Unit discovered that the stacks in this wing were poorly placed, cutting off all surveillance of the area from the librarian's station. In addition, an unalarmed stairwell provided a quick means of escape for the offenders. The solution was to improve surveillance and access control by significantly reducing hiding places and escape opportunities.

To enhance natural surveillance capabilities, the assessment team recommended turning the stacks ninety degrees from their previous positions, making them perpendicular to the librarian's station in the main corridor. New cross aisles and seating arrangements coinciding with exterior windows were also created.

The CPTED team recommended the installation of floor-to-ceiling mirrors on the walls opposite the librarian's station to allow observation of the area by normal users and staff. Finally, the stairwell would be alarmed and signed as a fire exit.

The retrofit process is still ongoing at the library as of this writing. However, with the incremental changes in place, the incident rate has dropped off, and one arrest has been made.

These cases illustrate the adaptability and effectiveness of CPTED principles. By working together to implement CPTED concepts, any team of specialists, architects, business owners, and members of the surrounding community can go a long way toward keeping their environment both aesthetically appealing and crime free.

Tom McKay is a constable with the Peel Regional Police's Crime Prevention Services Unit, Region of Peel, Ontario, Canada, where he is responsible for implementing CPTED concepts. McKay is the coordinator of the Peel CPTED Committee and has lectured extensively on the subject throughout the province of Ontario.