Recently I was looking online at public library behavior policies. I was astonished at how negative many of the policies were—full of “don’ts†and “These activities prohibited.†Now, I understand that libraries need standards. I also understand that library workers are often confrontation-averse, and prefer to have a written rule to point at when telling a patron not to do something. The fact that teens in particular are inclined to respond to a reprimand with a “Where does it say that?†adds to the desire to have everything written clearly. Read More →
