Will Libraries Become Extinct Feb 10, 2009?

It's not so far-fetched, people. As it stands today, the General Counsel of the Consumer Product Safety Commission has stated that on February 10, 2009 (when the CPSIA goes into effect) "public, school, academic and museum libraries [will have] to either remove all their books or ban all children under 12 from visiting the facilities." The American Library Association kicked into high gear by sending Congress a formal letter, but has since decided we should "sit back" as their lawyers are sure that this was not the intent of Congress when passing the CPSIA. Intended consequences or not. I am not comfortable sitting back and waiting when A) the organization in charge of enforcing this new law (the CPSC) interprets it to include children's books, and B) the law goes into effect in FOUR WEEKS leaving little time to act as is.

Once again, please email, write, or call your senators and state representatives. It takes less time than you'd think even to call them and just voice your concerns about this. I cannot even think about what it would mean if libraries had to get rid of their childrens sections... sure, they'd build them back up over time with "certified" tested books, but how long would that take? Years? Decades? And meanwhile kids are missing out.

And now, to cleanse my mind of these horrid, sad, sad thoughts, here's some super adorable pictures of D getting into my makeup this morning.