Susquehanna County residents and the county library board split over parental rights and children's rights to privacy concerning library cards at this week’s meeting.
For William Squier, the Board of Trustees of the Susquehanna County Historical Society and the Free Library Association’s President, allowing a child to remove their parent or guardian’s name from their library card is a form of emancipation from their parent or guardian.
“A library does not have the authority to emancipate a child,” said Squier.
Squier and several of the roughly 70 residents at Monday's meeting argued the library board should vote to switch back to the old library card system which did not allow minors under 18 to stop their parents from checking their library account.
The old system was changed back in 2023, Squier said. Susquehanna’s current system still requires parents to sign off on a child obtaining a library card, but the child can block their parents' access at any time.
He emphasized that parents are not notified by library staff if their child removes their access.
Former Library Administrator Kristina Ely said in response that when a parent signs off on a child’s library card, “they are made aware that their child can remove their name from that card … they know what they're getting [into].”
If a parent is taken off of the list of people able to review a child’s account, they cannot get information on what library books, movies and other materials they are viewing from library staff.
Several residents siding with Ely said they prefer the current system because it respects a child’s “right to privacy.”
Besides the debate over parental and children’s rights, the crowd fought over whether the current rule is legal under Title 24, which governs public libraries in Pennsylvania.
Ely said the board voted down the old system because it violated state law. She explained that Title 24 “says that all library patron records shall be kept private. It doesn't distinguish between age.”
There’s backing to Ely’s claim.
Title 24 states in reference to public libraries, “records of … library materials [that] contain the names or other personally identifying information of users … shall be confidential and may not be made available to anyone except by a court order in a criminal proceeding.”
Staff found a compromise, she said. Parents who want complete access to their child’s library usage can add that child to their own card, instead of signing off on a child-specific account where the parent may lose access.
However, Squier argued the new system breaks the law. The state Department of Education oversees policies related to public libraries. He argued that makes all libraries, including public libraries, subject to the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
FERPA applies to all educational institutions that receive federal funding, according to the Student Press Law Center (SPLC). It gives parents access to information in a student’s educational record and protects that information from third parties without parental consent.
“You cannot get federal dollars at any educational institution, unless you allow access … to minors’ records by the parents. That's federal law,” argued Squier.
Ely, a librarian, disagreed, saying FERPA deals with public schools, not libraries. The library also does not receive any federal funding, she added, which would make the law irrelevant.
WVIA reached out to the state Department of Education for clarification, but did not receive a response prior to publication.
The board tabled its vote to rescind the 2023 decision to next month’s meeting and Squier said he hopes to find a compromise.
“People had emotions that were high here, but I think it was a productive time … We want to listen to people, and we want to try to find [common] ground … Nobody gets everything they want, but hopefully everybody gets enough that they're content,” said Squier, who admitted that the years of debate were a “little wearing.”
A series of discontent: gay blueberries and possible lawsuits
Monday’s heated meeting also touched on ongoing controversy over Ely’s termination as the library’s administrator in December.
Ely claims she was laid off by surprise by a 6-4 vote on Dec. 16 by members who want to keep LGBTQ+ books out of the library.
Squier, who became board president at the Jan. 27 meeting, said Ely was let go not because of queer books, but for budgetary reasons. When asked to elaborate, he said he could not because of “legal reasons.”
Ely mocked the board on Monday for saying her termination was due to financial reasons. She said that if the board was struggling financially, it would find ways to cut spending across departments. The board, she said with vitriol, threw out old promotional materials for a 5K because it featured a blueberry with multi-colored running shoes.
“I find it interesting that apparently, the budget isn't such a big concern when it comes to gay blueberries … So seriously, you're that homophobic that you're going to throw out the marketing materials from last year because of the ‘gay blueberry,’” Ely said.
Squier dismissed that claim as a rumor.
But besides fending off fiscal issues and ‘gay blueberries,’ the library is still at risk of losing $280,000 it gets from state funding.
The county library is required under state law to have a librarian with a master’s degree in library and Information Science.
After terminating Ely, the board appointed current board member Lorraine Chidester as the library’s chief operating officer to serve as an interim administrator. Chidester has never worked as a librarian and does not have the required master's degree, according to Squier. She stepped down from her position as treasurer at the meeting and is working at the library on a volunteer basis.
Chidester declined to comment.
Squier added that the board has about six months to a year to hire a new librarian, according to the state. But the board hasn’t started looking for a new librarian because the library is under “investigation,” according to Squier. He declined to elaborate.
The board also is looking to restructure the Susquehanna County Historical Society and Free Library Association before it looks for a new library administrator, Squier added.
“There's a lot of things that need to be fixed in order to get things right and our end, we want to take our time and we want to get it right and make sure that this will go forward and be smooth and efficient,” Squier said.
Ely, meanwhile, is still considering whether she wants to pursue legal action.
At the last meeting she was discussed two possible lawsuits against the board, one for wrongful termination and the other for defamation.
Ely said Monday she still has a few months to decide whether to act on her termination.
“I don't want to see the library harmed. But by the same token, this board needs to recognize that there are limitations, and what they did in December was unethical, and I'm sure, violated some employment law,” Ely said.
She seemed less inclined to pursue a defamation case, adding that the person involved apologized to her, but wouldn't rule it out. She did not elaborate on the incident.
The Board of Trustees of the Susquehanna County Historical Society and the Free Library Association’s next meeting is Mar. 24 at the Forest City Branch Library, 531 Main St., Forest City at 6 p.m.
