Could New Lead Law Cause Library Ban of Children?

BRISTOL, Va. – Barring a drastic change in legal interpretation, public libraries across the nation might soon consider banning children.

The American Library Association, a nationwide library advocacy organization, fears such bans are the only option left available by a new federal lead-testing law that takes effect Feb. 10.

Toys are the main target of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act approved by Congress last August as a way to protect children from toxic playthings on store shelves.

Secondary targets include children’s clothing, electronics, furniture and, as determined weeks ago in a federal memo, books.

The law was a response to the massive recall in 2007 of toys made in China.

Though the ban is aimed at items for sale, the American Library Association points out there is no official federal ruling that exempts books loaned to children.

“Unless I hear a ruling in the next 10 days ... I am going to recommend to my membership that they either remove [children’s books] from shelves, or bar children 12 and under from coming into the library,” ALA Associate Director Emily Sheketoff told the Bristol Herald Courier on Tuesday. The alternative, she said, could mean flouting federal law and risking hefty fines.

By Tuesday afternoon, preschool children began to fill the children’s center of the Bristol Public Library.

One-year-old Hunter Schwartzman and his 4-year-old sister, Mckenzie, crawled on a rug and played with books and other children. Nearby, mother Krystal Kayton rolled her eyes after hearing that a ban is being considered.

“This is where my kids learn,” she said. “To ban a child from the library is taking learning from kids.”

Also surprised was Johnny Newport, whose daughter, 4-year-old Mackinzie, had just picked out books shaped like a balloon and a stuffed bear.

Libraries are “important to her” when it comes to learning and meeting new friends, Newport said.

Under the law, manufacturers must impose stringent tests for lead on all products sold to children 12 or younger. At the same time, stores cannot sell children’s products that contain more than a trace amount of lead.

The law also requires testing for more than scant amounts of the chemical phthalates, which is used to make plastics pliable.

Because the law is retroactive, it would impact not only products yet to roll off assembly lines, but also bikes, sweaters and electronics already in warehouses and on store shelves.

The fine for each violation is $100,000.

Most manufacturers have determined the average book to be free of lead and phthalates, Sheketoff said. The primary exceptions, she added, are children’s books made of plastic or ones that include toys.

A spokesman with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, tasked with overseeing the new law, said libraries need worry only about books destined for sale.

“Library books, since they are not involved in commerce, are not included,” said Consumer Product Safety Commission spokeswoman Sonia Hayes-Pleasant.

But a spokesperson’s interpretation would not hold up in court if a librarian was fined for loaning an untested book to a child, Sheketoff said.

“If they could say that officially, I could rest easy,” she said.

Jud Barry, director of Bristol’s library, said the law crept up on him. He learned of it in a Monday morning call from the Bristol Herald Courier.

On Tuesday, Barry said there are no plans for a ban of children, or to strip shelves of children’s books. Instead, he voiced confidence that the law will be changed.

“It’s just hard to imagine at this point that legislators, when they hear this is a possible consequence, will want that to happen,” he said.

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