A teenager is hoping the Dearborn Library Commission will change a relatively new policy that says, from January 16 to January 26, anyone under the age of 18 cannot visit the library without an adult.
It covers the two week period when a lot of high school students will be preparing for finals. But it's also the time when some teenagers take opportunity to behave badly, says Maryanne Bartles, Director of Dearborn Public Libraries.
Bartles told 7 Action News they didn't want to prohibit unattended children during this period, but things had gotten so bad that library workers were being "abused and disrespected."
Parents and teachers had been invited to help monitor the teenagers, but we're told no one ever stepped up to help.
The Dearborn Library Commission is expected to hear from both sides when they meet on Friday at 4:00 pm.
The following is Mariam Amin's petition on Change.org:
The City of Dearborn announced that all people under the age of 18 cannot enter the three public libraries during the weeks leading up to Finals (January 16 - January 26) without an adult. This guideline prevents hard working students from getting quiet study time and checking out library books. It is a disruption to the learning process of students. While we understand that some children may misbehave, we cannot let the larger majority of students suffer from learning at the hands of those small bunch that are not yet mature. If a person is eligible to drive on public roads without an adult at the age of 16, then it is reasonable to say they can and should be trusted to enter a public library. This petition is important to me because I love to read and have easy access to books. I also need a quiet space to study because otherwise I cannot focus and get work done which leads to a poor grade on an important exam. Please help keep our libraries available to students who cannot get their parents to come watch them for three hours while they study or browse books.
