Dr. Ball briefly mentioned in class last week the issue of lead in library books. I was a little late in getting the info . Here is an article with the main details. I didn't realize the threat until a friend who works in the children's department of a library, suddenly started talking about her plan to hide books and that certain classics always belonged in the library no matter what legislation said. She is definitely an advocate for IF and meant business if the legislation that goes into affect next year did take books off the library's selves. Fortunately the legislation will not affect libraries and books will stay on the shelves.
This got me thinking about other peoples reactions to the lead found in toys and books. I was at an Easter egg hunt this past week end and one of the kids participating got a match box car in his egg. His mother snatched the car out of his hand and began to inspect it. She then very loudly said if its made in China its going in the trash! I just kept thinking do you know how many products are made in China?
What should librarians say to patrons with these fears? It is their right to no longer allow products made in China in at home . But what about toys and books at the library? Could a patron who is loudly expressing their concerns cause other patrons to become concerned? I liked the example of in order for the lead in library books to be ingested by a child they would have to lick it repeatedly. Could you tell this to a patron or do you need to stay neutral and only voice the libraries policy?
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ReplyDeleteWhen I think of lead being in books I mainly think of the board books that kids really do lick, chew, and probably eat quite a lot. Are board books lead based?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I can truly empathize with the woman who visibly got agitated over a toy she though might have lead in it.
It's a little scary when you think of the amounts of subquality/and even dangerous products from China. Where do you start? Do thousands of people have to suffer/and or die like those poor nursing babies before something is done? And, short of stopping all trade with China, how else could this be dealt with? It's obvious each country has its own standards but do those standards apply to products that are exported? Or do they only apply to their consumers?
The entire idea of protecting children from lead is so laudable that it's hard to imagine how legislators got things so messed up. Too many congressional aides staying up too late writing legislation that their bosses didn't fully consider.
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