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I asked this question on TX-YAC about 3 or 4 years ago, and am including the responses I got. Ages for unattended children: If you have a policy in place, what is the minimum age at which you allow unattended children in the library? I have some policies I've gotten off PUB-YAC, where the ages range from 5 or 6 to 10 or even 12, with the average around 8 or 9. Do you make a distinction as to whether the parent is directly supervising the child or even not in the building? Our policy says children under the age of 6 must be accompanied by an adult at all times throughout the building. Responses from TXYAC We do not have a formal policy for unsupervised children, but have spoken individually with parents who have left children or do not suprevise them. Sandra Holmes Texarkana Public Library Sandra K Holmes [EMAIL PROTECTED] Janette, Just now reading your email. You probably have already received a reply from Austin Public staff but in case you have not - * Minimum age for unattended children is 8. Children 8 and under must be supervised by an adult or mature adolescent mimimum age of 13. We often see siblings come to the library together and the older child has been put in charge of the younger ones. We will allow this if the child in charge is age 13 or over and if the children act appropriately in the library. Anita Joye Rizley Youth Program Coordinator Austin Public Library P.O. Box 2287 Austin, TX 78768-2287 512. 974. 7465 office [EMAIL PROTECTED] Hi Janette, As far as unattended children, our age is 9 - must be accompanied by a parent in the building. Susan Allison [EMAIL PROTECTED] Children can be left unattended if their parent is in the building prior to age nine. Debbie Hays [EMAIL PROTECTED] Children under seven may not be left alone in the library (parent outside the building). A number of parents who use our Internet computers leave their small ones in the Easy area ( 20 feet away). Unfortunately, it's usually the child who keeps an eye on the parent, rather than the reverse. Jean Snyder, Youth Services Librarian [EMAIL PROTECTED] Children under nine must have supervision, with person within eyesight. maria, euless p.l. Maria Cameron [EMAIL PROTECTED] In January 2001, Cedar Park hosted a workshop that dealt with all kinds of tense situations in the library. I got sick just as it started & had to go home, but one of the things the consultant talked about was unattended children in the library. Apparently, there are some legal issues in Texas when you state an age for unattended children-something to the effect that by publishing an age, the library is tacitly agreeing to take on responsibility for any children who are under 18 but above the published age. You may want to email Kathie Myers at [EMAIL PROTECTED] about what was said at the workshop. You may have to remind her that it was the workshop on guerrilla tactics. Like I said, I had to go home so I missed it all. I think Amanda was there, too. She might know something about it Melissa Uhlhorn [EMAIL PROTECTED] ******************************************************** They are allowed to get a library card as long as they can write their name. Taylor, Trina [EMAIL PROTECTED] _____________________________________________________________________- Janette, HPL's policy on unattended children has just cleared our legal department so my answer isn't official. The preliminary version stated that children 7 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Children's Protective Services agrees with that age. I'm not sure whether the policy states that a parent must be in the building, but that was always my personal philosophy. Stanton, Mary - HPL [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mary Stanton, Juvenile Specialist Houston Public Library 500 McKinney Houston, TX 77002-2534 The unattended children policy that is nearing passage by our library board states: "The Nacogdoches Public Library welcomes children to use its facilities and services; however, the library does not serve as a day care center. Responsibility for children using the library rests with the parent/guardian or assigned chaperone or responsible teenager, not with library personnel. Children seven (7) years of age and under should never be left unsupervised in the library. A parent or guardian of a child seven (7) years of age or under attending a story time or other program must remain in the building. Children age eight (8) and older may use the library unattended but must display acceptable library behavior. Anne Barker [EMAIL PROTECTED] Janette Johnston, Children's Services Manager Round Rock Public Library System Robert G. and Helen Griffith Library Building 216 E. Main Round Rock, TX 78664 512-218-7002 FAX 512-218-7061 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.roundrocktexas.gov/library/ <http://www.roundrocktexas.gov/library/> Please note that our city has instituted a spam blocking program. Some business-related mails are being blocked or you may receive an erroneous "mailbox full" type of message. If I have not responded to your email (and I almost always do), please resend to my personal account at [EMAIL PROTECTED] . Foreign emails, hotmail accounts, and some yahoo and .org accounts are the common extensions being blocked. I am sorry for this inconvenience. <http://www.roundrocktexas.gov/> -----Original Message----- From: Shanda Subia [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2007 2:25 PM To: CTLS Discussion Group Subject: [ctls-l] Unattended children policy This is a message from CTLS-L. Selecting "Reply" will send a message to the originator. Selecting "Reply to All" will send a message to the entire list. --------------------------------------------------------- I would like to know what your policies are regarding unattended children in the library. Do you require that children under a certain age have a parent/caretaker with them or at least in the building? If so, what are your age brackets? Thanks, Shanda Subia Library Director Lampasas Public Library 201 S. Main St. Lampasas, TX 76550 512-556-3251 [EMAIL PROTECTED] I GoodSearch for the Library Foundation of Lampasas, TX. 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