All patrons under 18 will need parental permission to access materials outside of youth collections and to use computers at Lafayette libraries, according to the Acadiana Advocate, under a policy adopted this week.
By default, minors will be issued restricted access library cards that prohibit them from checking out “adult” materials as defined in a state law passed in 2023. Parents and guardians will need to sign off in-person to obtain unrestricted cards for their kids. Anti-censorship groups say the restrictions will make age-appropriate material, like test prep books and works of classic literature, unnecessarily difficult to get.
Passed Monday by the Library Board of Control, the rule makes retroactive a policy adopted earlier this year that affected library cards issued to minors after May 28.
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Progress on the new library has been halting as the library system lost tax revenues and navigated controversies.
A bill that would change the qualifications to become a library director passed the House of Representatives Tuesday afternoon.