Internal talking points reveal details about Community Library Network’s restrictive child library cards

As the Community Library Network of Kootenai County works to restrict children and teen access to books in the district’s collection that its board deems inappropriate, those restrictions will also affect minors from other libraries.

The CLN library board last month voted to restrict all of its children’s library cards from accessing a larger network of books: North Idaho’s interlibrary loan consortium, the Cooperative Information Network. An internal document obtained by The Spokesman-Review says that move was reciprocal: children under 18 from other libraries in the consortium will no longer have access to the CLN’s books.

The move raises questions about the future of the Community Library Network’s relationship with the consortium, which includes libraries throughout North Idaho as well as Liberty Lake Municipal Library and Pend Oreille County Library District in Washington. The CLN oversees seven libraries in Kootenai and Shoshone counties.

The upheaval follows the Cooperative Information Network moves to restructure and reincorporate under a new name: Inland Northwest Libraries. Once incorporated, it will need to approve new bylaws and a joint powers agreement, according to draft minutes from the consortium’s Jan. 15 meeting.

Community Library Network Director Martin Walters abstained from voting on the articles of incorporation at the meeting.

The following day, the Community Library Network’s board of trustees voted to revoke all open-access library cards for minors, meaning children will no longer have access to the consortium’s physical materials or online content. The change affects about 8,900 children.

The board changed the policy in conjunction with creating the library network’s mature content collection. The collection will hold materials the library deems “harmful to minors” under Idaho’s Children’s School and Library Protection Act in an adult-access-only room at Post Falls Library. The library is reviewing a list of 140 titles – mostly young adult novels – for possible inclusion in the collection.

Previously, parents had three types of library cards to choose from for their children: access only to the children’s collection (geared for ages 0-12), access to the children’s and teen collection (geared for ages 13-15), or open access to the entire library collection including the Cooperative Library Network.

According to the library director’s January report, 8,906 child cards had open access, while 813 had one of the more restrictive options. There were nearly 37,000 adult cards.

Under the new policy, parents have only two options for children’s library cards. A limited access card allows minors to use the minor collection intended for ages 0-17. A general access card for minors allows them to access all general adult materials. Neither card allows access to the mature content collection. Children will still have access to books from other Community Library Network libraries within their restriction level.

A memo of talking points guiding library employees how to tell patrons about the new policies says all existing cardholders will maintain their current borrowing privileges until the changes are fully implemented “in the coming weeks and months.”

Cardholders will be notified of the changes through press releases, newsletters, the website and social media.

“If your child visits a CIN library, your child’s card will not work at that library after the implementation process is complete,” the document says.

It also says that Cooperative Information Network minor cards will not work at Community Library Network libraries. The document advises staff against recommending parents obtain a Cooperative Information Network card if they want their child to access digital materials, because staff “should encourage members to operate within the boundaries of CLN policy.”

Staff were guided to respond to questions about the mature content collection by comparing it to other special collections within the library, for example: a children’s collection, a large print collection, an inspirational fiction collection or an audiobook collection.

Community Library Network trustees said at the January meeting the new card policy was to protect children from accessing materials from Washington state libraries not bound by the Idaho law and other Idaho libraries with less restrictive policies.

Library staff and the board’s attorney advised the board against immediately approving the policy in order to give advance notice to the Cooperative Information Network and the public about the change.

The policy was approved in a 3-1 vote, with Trustee Vanessa Robinson in opposition and Chair Rachelle Ottosen abstaining.

The Cooperative Information Network is scheduled to meet at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

The Community Library Network’s regular board meeting is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday at the Post Falls Library.