Nine-year-old Lucy Rodriguez is homeschooled year-round and in the summer enjoys riding her bike, reading her favorite authors and learning about the world.

For the past week, the third grader has devoted several hours a day to standing outside of her neighborhood library waving signs she painted herself with messages such as “Let Me Learn” and “Public Libraries = Public Access.”

Lucy is protesting Pikes Peak Library District policies that prevent her from being inside the building without a parent, guardian or caregiver.

Children aged 12 and under are not allowed at local libraries unless they are accompanied by a parent, guardian or a responsible caregiver aged 13 and older. Kids ages 8 and under must be in the line of sight of the adult or caregiver at all times.

The chances of Lucy affecting change of the decades-old rules appear to be slim, but she’s adamant about voicing her opposition.

“We come here and check out books, and now we can’t, which is unfair. We can’t spend money on buying lots of books, which is why libraries are there — so you can check out books,” Lucy said Thursday, while manning her sidewalk vigil in front of the Old Colorado City Library.

Her brother, 8-year-old Lucas Rodriguez, also is demonstrating.

“If kids are responsible and follow the rules and are safe there, why is there a reason to kick them out?” he asks.

Lucy recently received a written notice saying she was banned from the library district’s facilities for the day because she was in violation of its Code of Conduct when she staged a “sit-in” inside the building and then tried to check out books without success.

Going to the library on their own has been somewhat of a rite of passage for many kids over the decades, particularly during the summer when it’s hot out and they’re looking for something to do, says their mom, Eden Rodriguez. “When I was a kid, the library was my escape.”

She believes letting children enter a library solo teaches them independence and imparts a sense of freedom, decision making and problem solving. Plus, she says, her kids are well behaved and know how to handle different situations.

“This policy is a clear example of the harmful ‘safetyism’ warned about in the book, ‘The Coddling of the American Mind,’” Rodriguez said.
“Instead of allowing responsible children to build independence and resilience through normal tasks like using a public library, the rule treats capable kids as too fragile to be there on their own.”

Lucy and Lucas, two of Rodriguez’s brood of five, have been using the library unsupervised for a while, stopping after school or venturing over during the summer. They say they haven’t had a problem with the practice until now.

Nothing in the approach has changed since a child-safety policy was enacted in 2005, said Denise Abbott, chief communications and marketing officer for Pikes Peak Library District, which operates 14 branches along with mobile services in El Paso County.

“These policies talk about the ages that must have a parent in the library and a parent watching them — and they’re pretty much in alignment with what we’re doing today,” she said.

But the policy was tweaked in May, and a risk management policy was enacted to align with a new Colorado law that defines teenagers as ages 13-17, Abbott said.  

Thus, “caregivers” for younger kids can be older siblings age 13 and over.

As for enforcement, neither children nor adults are asked their age when they enter a library, Abbott said, and librarians are often busy with other tasks and may not notice that a child is there on their own.

“It’s not until it becomes apparent that a child is alone, or we recognize it because something has happened, that we talk to the child, find out how old the child is, if they’re with a parent. If the situation violates our Code of Conduct or other policies, we’d have to contact their parent,” she said. “We cannot assume responsibility for the child’s safety.”

Each tax-funded library district sets its own regulations under a governing board, and the policies can differ.

The American Library Association advises libraries to create policies that balance child safety with equitable access, while stating that libraries are not child care centers and libraries cannot act “in loco parentis,” or take on the role of parents. Behavior rather than age is mentioned as a guide.

Abbott said the Pikes Peak Library District’s policies are intended to be consistent and apply across the board, rather than judge children’s behavior individually because “regardless of how good the child acts, being alone could create a situation for the child.”

At Denver Public Library, children ages 7 and older may visit the library unattended as long as they abide by behavior expectations and parents remain responsible for their children’s behavior, according to a policy that was updated two years ago.

Children ages 6 and younger must be accompanied by an adult or a responsible sibling or caregiver who is over the age of 10 and remain visible while visiting the library, the policy states.

The Pueblo City-County Library District generally allows children older than age 8 who abide by its Code of Conduct to be at the library alone or with older siblings, according to the Youth Services section. Younger children usually are asked to be accompanied by a parent or responsible caregiver.

An informal poll of moms showed division on the issue. Some think the Pikes Peak Library District policy seems understandable, while others point to their own adventures as kids, riding their bikes or walking to a nearby library by themselves.

One woman said she recently dropped her daughter off in front of a local library because the girl had to use the restroom. The mom parked the car to wait outside with her other children, but her daughter was told to leave before she could go to the bathroom.

“It’s just a cool place to hang out when you’re a kid,” said one mom who said she preferred to remain unnamed.

That’s the case literally and figuratively, the Rodriguez family agreed, since they don’t have air conditioning in their home.

“Well-intentioned stuff like this is hurting children by not allowing them to have small tasks they can accomplish,” Rodriguez said. “I’m not sending small children. I am not looking for a babysitter, and I am not trying to use the library as a day care. These are unreasonable Draconian rules that lead to kids getting kicked out.”

Children’s rights are often discretionary.

In Colorado, there is no law that sets a minimum age at which a child can be legally left home alone, according to CO4Kids. Instead, parents are expected to use reasonable judgment based on the child’s maturity and the circumstances.

However, if a child is left in an unsafe situation or lacks adequate supervision, the parent could be investigated for child neglect.

Around age 10, a child could be left at home alone for short periods of time, and children age 12 could begin babysitting younger siblings, depending on the maturity and circumstances, according to guidelines from the Colorado Department of Human Services.

Rodriguez said she recognizes that librarians are just doing their job in enforcing the system’s policies.

“This is just sad and a bummer all the way around. My oldest grew up in libraries. Hopefully, they’ll change this policy.”