MD Considers New Library Ban

New bill would give librarians more flexibility to bar unruly patrons

By Walter Minkel -- School Library Journal, 5/1/2004

Legislators in Montgomery County, MD, are considering a county law that would give librarians the authority to oust disruptive patrons from the building for 90 days or less. Under current state law, libraries can only bar unruly patrons for one day or one year—and nothing in between.

But Stephen Block, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), wants to add a clause to the proposed bill that blocks the barring of a patron from the library until the case has been reviewed by senior library staffers and the accused has been given a chance to appeal the decision. If adopted, the new bill would augment current state law.

Library staffers in January urged the county council to draft the new bill, which would give librarians more flexibility to bar patrons for any amount of time up to 90 days.

Only three out of 27 library patrons who were asked to leave the library in 2003 were under the age of 18, and none were banned for more than a day. Reasons for barring patrons ranged from someone who repeatedly refused to turn over a computer terminal after his time had expired to teenagers who got too loud or rowdy, says Montgomery County Library Director Harriet Henderson, adding that the ACLU's challenge to the bill stems from the fact that it also applies to all county facilities and services, including bus drivers who have been physically assaulted by angry riders. "Those assaults ratcheted up the attention," she says. "But I don't want people to think that librarians are being assaulted." The county council plans to vote on the bill May 4.