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> Libraries are a fine-tuned system that maximizes freedom of expression and ideas in a reasonably curated manner. Is there a difference between the freedom of

> Libraries are a fine-tuned system that maximizes freedom of expression and ideas in a reasonably curated manner. Is there a difference between the freedom of expression of children and of adults? If so, wouldn't parents have a right to limit the freedoms of their own children according to their families moral and religious beliefs? I wonder if maybe the issue is that in a school setting, the librarians are operating as if the children are their only charges? I'm entirely ignorant on these points and don't have children, so this is just a question from that perspective: Are librarians doing enough to announce their editorial decisions and to explain them to parents? Should they be required to? Should libraries share with parents the list of books their children have checked out? Should libraries allow parents to curate a list of books they do not want their children to checkout? Is there a better middle ground here?

germinalphrase 5y ago
Parents should teach their children to use “good judgement” according to their family values with regard to what books they choose to check out from the library. Creating some kind of list system (with all the additional overhead involved) seems silly to me.
sdfhdigfhonio 5y ago
>If so, wouldn't parents have a right to limit the freedoms of their own children according to their families moral and religious beliefs? I will sidestep your question main question and instead nitpick your choice of words. Families do not have moral and religious beliefs. People have moral and religious beliefs. The fact that the parents believe something absolutely does not imply that the children believe the same or that they should believe the same. To your main point, I generally don't care about the right of parents to make decisions for their children. Parents are entrusted with children because it appears children do best when raised by their parents. If there were evidence that children do better if they are taken from their parents at birth, I would support doing so.

germinalphrase 5y ago

Parents should teach their children to use “good judgement” according to their family values with regard to what books they choose to check out from the library. Creating some kind of list system (with all the additional overhead involved) seems silly to me.

sdfhdigfhonio 5y ago

>If so, wouldn't parents have a right to limit the freedoms of their own children according to their families moral and religious beliefs? I will sidestep your question main question and instead nitpick your choice of words. Families do not have moral and religious beliefs. People have moral and religious beliefs. The fact that the parents believe something absolutely does not imply that the children believe the same or that they should believe the same. To your main point, I generally don't care about the right of parents to make decisions for their children. Parents are entrusted with children because it appears children do best when raised by their parents. If there were evidence that children do better if they are taken from their parents at birth, I would support doing so.