Obama says: Take those books out of the library!

[Grey Swan]

I just heard a news report over the radio. According the announcement, the "administration" has requested that public libraries remove all children's books printed before 1960. They are supposedly "concerned about the amount of lead used in the printing"...

According to the report, right now they are only interested in the danger to children.

Has anyone else heard anything about this? I've been wondering when the attack upon libraries would begin, but this seems too obvious, even to me.

I found one article:


EFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Could a vintage, dog-eared copy of "The Cat in the Hat" or "Where the Wild Things Are" be hazardous to your children?

Probably not, according to the nation's premier medical sleuths, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But a new federal law banning more than minute levels of lead in most products intended for children 12 or younger — and a federal agency's interpretation of the law — prompted at least two libraries last month to pull children's books printed before 1986 from their shelves.

Lead poisoning has been linked to irreversible learning disabilities and behavioral problems, and lead was present in printer's ink until a growing body of regulations banned it in 1986. The federal law, which took effect Feb. 10, was passed last summer after a string of recalls of toys.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has interpreted the law to include books but has neither concluded that older books could be hazardous to children nor made any recommendations to libraries about quarantining such tomes, agency chief of staff Joe Martyak said Tuesday.

Still, the agency's interpretation itself has been labeled alarmist by some librarians.

"We're talking about tens of millions of copies of children's books that are perfectly safe. I wish a reasonable, rational person would just say, `This is stupid. What are we doing?'" said Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the American Library Association's Washington office.

A CPSC spokesman told The Associated Press in a recent interview that until more testing is done, the nation's more than 116,000 public and school libraries should take steps to ensure that children are kept away from books printed before 1986.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gjqsoTFa3Md19X3UmKYKTx3WiwKwD9705QG80

According to the article the government has made no requests... Hopefully no story here.

:flag::pray::pray::flag:

[rhet 2]

So reprint the books with modern ink.

This is NOT a ban on the books per se -- just on the ink used in past decades.

Huckleberry Finn in a 2009 edition is just as Anti-Racism as it was in 1900.

[orbitaldecay]

If Obama is the one to support this....

1) Isn't this a state's responsibility?
2) Is there any evidence that lead in ink of old books is harmful!?

[Grey Swan]

I can't find anything hard that backs up what I heard. Hopefully the report was way off.

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[Gabby]

seems more like a Sarah Palin issue

Why? She never banned books. Spread untrue rumors much?

[Tomcat]

She certainly checked into it. Ask her local librarian.

Maybe rumors are like some posters...they sound so familiar that you gotta think about them a little bit.:))

[bridges]

She certainly checked into it. Ask her local librarian.

Would that be you?

[Tomcat]

Would that be you?

Nah, just "another" poster with a Sarah fetish.

[Ninjacorpse]

This was more disturbing when Sarah Palin was asking about how she might get some books she found objectionable pulled from library shelves. Because, lets face it, Sarah Palin is kind of a nutty extremist with some wacko beliefs

:)) Obama isn't? You guys crack me up.

[Grey Swan]

There may be more to this story in the future. Although the government has included books in its interpretation of the law - the Library Association is fighting back.

From that same article:

Nathan Brown, a lawyer for the library association, said libraries should not even be subject to the law. He argued that Congress never wanted to regulate books and that libraries do not sell books and thus are not subject to the consumer products law.

:flag::pray::pray::flag:

[Gabby]

This was more disturbing when Sarah Palin was asking about how she might get some books she found objectionable pulled from library shelves. Because, lets face it, Sarah Palin is kind of a nutty extremist with some wacko beliefs

No, Sarah Palin never tried to get books banned. She asked a librarian what the library's policy was on the topic since some people had been asking her about it.

Did you know that libraries effectively ban books all the time? They choose which books to carry and which to not carry.

Please do enlighten us about these nutty extremist wacko beliefs that Sarah Palin has. Be sure to include proof, real solid proof, not gossip web sites.

[Billy_Bob]

I just heard a news report over the radio. According the announcement, the "administration" has requested that public libraries remove all children's books printed before 1960. They are supposedly "concerned about the amount of lead used in the printing"...

According to the report, right now they are only interested in the danger to children.

Has anyone else heard anything about this? I've been wondering when the attack upon libraries would begin, but this seems too obvious, even to me.

I found one article:


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gjqsoTFa3Md19X3UmKYKTx3WiwKwD9705QG80

According to the article the government has made no requests... Hopefully no story here.

:flag::pray::pray::flag:

The PPM (Parts Per Million) is way below safety standards in the ink... I wonder what their REAL AGENDA IS?

[Gabby]

She certainly checked into it. Ask her local librarian.

Yes, I, and most posters here are very familary with all the smear gossip against Palin. Palin said that she asked some questions about the library's policies and banning books because some constituents asked her about it. The statement from the librarian said the same thing. Sarah never asked that any books be banned. She did not pursue it.

Makes sense to me that if a mayor is being pressured on the topic she'd want to get her facts streight as to how the library handles such requests. That way she could go back and tell the persons interested in banning books that the process is such and such and bascially the library is not going to do it.

[Middy]

seems more like a Sarah Palin issue

You must be a Daily kos reader :rolleyes: .

[Grey Swan]

The PPM (Parts Per Million) is way below safety standards in the ink... I wonder what their REAL AGENDA IS?

My thoughts exactly.

This new federal law is being interpreted in ways that give it potentially frightening powers...

The effective date is actually 1986:

lead was present in printer's ink until a growing body of regulations banned it in 1986.

Thankfully the law, currently, references only children.

:flag::pray::pray::flag:

[Middy]

Yes, I, and most posters here are very familary with all the smear gossip against Palin. Palin said that she asked some questions about the library's policies and banning books because some constituents asked her about it. The statement from the librarian said the same thing. Sarah never asked that any books be banned. She did not pursue it.

Makes sense to me that if a mayor is being pressured on the topic she'd want to get her facts streight as to how the library handles such requests. That way she could go back and tell the persons interested in banning books that the process is such and such and bascially the library is not going to do it.

Why bother to explain to those know-it-alls who buy all of the garbage on the leftist smear sites?

[darknessesedge]

I just heard a news report over the radio. According the announcement, the "administration" has requested that public libraries remove all children's books printed before 1960. They are supposedly "concerned about the amount of lead used in the printing"...

According to the report, right now they are only interested in the danger to children.

Has anyone else heard anything about this? I've been wondering when the attack upon libraries would begin, but this seems too obvious, even to me.

I found one article:


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gjqsoTFa3Md19X3UmKYKTx3WiwKwD9705QG80

According to the article the government has made no requests... Hopefully no story here.

:flag::pray::pray::flag:

lets see..I have read alot of those books..in fact our school books were pre 1960..
and I am fine..
big bro just wussifying our kids even more.

[Tomcat]

My thoughts exactly.

This new federal law is being interpreted in ways that give it potentially frightening powers...

The effective date is actually 1986:


Thankfully the law, currently, references only children.

:flag::pray::pray::flag:

With the approved ink used in printing the new books for the children will come the approved message.

[Neurosylum]

*sigh* If Congress allows the CPSIA to target children's books that were printed before 1960 with cover illustrations that used lead paint, I think they need to quarantine the city of New York.

I know wikipedia isn't the best of sources, but here's how they measure blood lead levels and what is considered dangerous:

One measure of lead in the body is the blood lead level (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_lead_level) (BLL), measured in micrograms of lead per decilitre of blood (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood) (μg/dL). Nearly everyone has a measurable BLL. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Centers_for_Disease_Control_and_Prevention) (CDC) states that a BLL of 10 μg/dL or above is a cause for concern.

Lead-contaminated household dust is the major source of lead exposure to children in the U.S.[50] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_poisoning#cite_note-49) A 2006 study in New York City (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City) found lead levels in settled outdoor dust, a source of household dust, of 175 to 730 μg/ft2, and noted that these levels exceed the HUD (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Housing_and_Urban_Deve lopment)/EPA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Environmental_Protection_Agency) lead in indoor dust standard of 40 μg/ft2.[51] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_poisoning#cite_note-50) In 1978 there were 13.5 million children in the United States with elevated blood lead levels (i.e., 10µg/dl). By 2002, that number had dropped to 310,000 children.[52] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_poisoning#cite_note-51) The U.S. incurs $43.4 billion annually in the costs of all pediatric environmental disease, with childhood lead poisoning alone accounting for the vast majority of it.[53] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead_poisoning#cite_note-52)And if you're one of those people like me who grew up with those books and can still function normally in society, then we've got a big concern about kids nowadays who aren't as tough as we were.

Anyways, I agree with rhet 2. This isn't a ban, but this certainly affects financially (and sometimes emotionally) those old book shops that sell them forgotten books that were first editions (I have one in my town called Ye Olde Bookworm). Hopefully, they will be reprinted to conform to modern health standards. And if you're really concerned with your kids, don't take them here:
http://library.albany.edu/speccoll/children.htm

[Its any henna]

...Has anyone else heard anything about this? I've been wondering when the attack upon libraries would begin, but this seems too obvious, even to me.
...
"A CPSC spokesman told The Associated Press in a recent interview that until more testing is done, the nation's more than 116,000 public and school libraries should take steps to ensure that children are kept away from books printed before 1986."
I'm trying to see the modern-day attack on Alexandria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Alexandria), but having trouble for two reasons:
1. As someone else mentioned, newer replacements are not banned.
2. Was there an ideological sea change in 1986? Were all books published before then books that Obama would want to ban, but all those coming after would be ones he wouldn't want banned?
I remember the Challenger blew up and Iran-Contra did too, but what makes 1986 so special, ideology-wise? Or perhaps it was a response to the world-changing "Back to the Future" of the year before? 1.21 jigawatts...

[Grey Swan]

lets see..I have read alot of those books..in fact our school books were pre 1960..
and I am fine..
big bro just wussifying our kids even more.

Those of us subjected to those heavy-leaded books may be suffering the effects without ever realizing it. For my part - I have never been able to understand liberals....Ever since reading all those old books I have been a patriotic conservative.

Think it was all the lead?..... :)

:flag::pray::pray::flag:

[Neurosylum]

I remember the Challenger blew up and Iran-Contra did too, but what makes 1986 so special, ideology-wise? Or perhaps it was a response to the world-changing "Back to the Future" of the year before? 1.21 jigawatts...

I NEED A NUCLEAR REEEEACTION!!

Errrr...

Anyways, it seems that there were a lot of "play"-type books (pop ups, pull the tags and something happens, etc) before 1985 that the CPSIA has a concern over since children love to touch and eat everything they see...although I might be describing my 4-month old puppy as well...

Under the CPSIA, a children's product is one designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger. The guide includes books in its list of such products, although it says children's books "printed after 1985 that are conventionally printed and intended to be read, as opposed to used for play" can be sold. Plainly, the CPSC believes the law applies to children's books printed before 1985.

[Grey Swan]

I'm trying to see the modern-day attack on Alexandria (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_of_Alexandria), but having trouble for two reasons:
1. As someone else mentioned, newer replacements are not banned.
2. Was there an ideological sea change in 1986? Were all books published before then books that Obama would want to ban, but all those coming after would be ones he wouldn't want banned?
I remember the Challenger blew up and Iran-Contra did too, but what makes 1986 so special, ideology-wise? Or perhaps it was a response to the world-changing "Back to the Future" of the year before? 1.21 jigawatts...
No "ideological sea change" - apparently that was the year lead was banned from printing ink.

Hopefully this is just an act of caution, even if possibly a little extreme...

:flag::pray::pray::flag:

[BasicGreatGuy]

Let's hear it for big government :rolleyes:

[Its any henna]

No "ideological sea change" - apparently that was the year lead was banned from printing ink.

Hopefully this is just an act of caution, even if possibly a little extreme...

:flag::pray::pray::flag:
It's almost like counsel for the CPSC had this ridiculous fear that there'd be a bunch of class-action lead-exposure lawsuits against public libraries, or against the agency in charge of protecting consumers for failing to prevent lead-exposure. But surely they should know better than to think that sensible consumer protection class-action litigators would bring a frivolous lawsuit against deep pockets like state and federal governments...Silly CPSC lawyers, class-action litigators are our friends.

[tjvh]

Let the Book burning begin, and commence rewriting history in the image that is Obama.

[JerryN]

Couldn't they simply tell the kids not to eat the books?

[tjvh]

Couldn't they simply tell the kids not to eat the books?

I'm far more concerned of the "health risks" in the "other" things they want to tell the kids.

[Grey Swan]

Couldn't they simply tell the kids not to eat the books?

What, and traumatize the future leaders of our country? It's the accepted form of "absorbing the data"....

:)

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[Billy_Bob]

What, and traumatize the future leaders of our country? It's the accepted form of "absorbing the data"....

:)

:flag::pray::pray::flag:

this ends up in a crappy outcome.....:razz:

[zantax]

Speaking of libraries, my local library now offers films and get this, video games. I was hardened to libraries offering free movie rentals but boy was I surprised the other day to see some kid walk out with an xbox 360 game.

Don't get me wrong, I love movies and video games. But why is my government supplying them at my tax expense? Are they trying to corner the information market? How are blockbuster and all my favorite game stores going to survive if their products are available for free? And why the hell are my property taxes paying for some kid to off a couple of hookers in GTA IV?

[Blindeye101]

Couldn't they simply tell the kids not to eat the books?

You expect the union card caring teachers do something useful?

[Billy_Bob]

You expect the union card caring teachers do something useful?

That's not included in their union contract..... :doh:

[tjvh]

Speaking of libraries, my local library now offers films and get this, video games. I was hardened to libraries offering free movie rentals but boy was I surprised the other day to see some kid walk out with an xbox 360 game.

Don't get me wrong, I love movies and video games. But why is my government supplying them at my tax expense? Are they trying to corner the information market? How are blockbuster and all my favorite game stores going to survive if their products are available for free? And why the hell are my property taxes paying for some kid to off a couple of hookers in GTA IV?

I hardly think video games should be classified as "educational", and subsidized by Taxpayer funds. Insane. :rolleyes:

[wonderingrover]

You know, I sometimes wonder how we ever survived the 20th century. As children, many of us rode in the front seat of cars - without even wearing seatbelts. I remember standing up in the front seat sometimes as a child. We didn't have warings on coffee cups that the coffee might be hot. We read books that were printed before this cutoff date. How in the world did the world survive all those years?

[zantax]

I hardly think video games should be classified as "educational", and subsidized by Taxpayer funds. Insane. :rolleyes:

The Audio books, videos, video games, internet stations and magazines now take up as much room as the books. I'm waiting for the spin classes and yoga sessions next.

[zantax]

Oh and don't forget the large conference room set aside for "community organizers" to rabble rouse.

[Grey Swan]

Speaking of libraries, my local library now offers films and get this, video games. I was hardened to libraries offering free movie rentals but boy was I surprised the other day to see some kid walk out with an xbox 360 game.

Don't get me wrong, I love movies and video games. But why is my government supplying them at my tax expense? Are they trying to corner the information market? How are blockbuster and all my favorite game stores going to survive if their products are available for free? And why the hell are my property taxes paying for some kid to off a couple of hookers in GTA IV?

I don't know about the video games, but I know our local library lends movies and CDs. I wouldn't be surprised to find that they DO lend video games as well.

I'll have to look into that the next time I go over. To be honest, I never thought too much about it - but you make a good point. I'd like to know if my taxes are supporting some kids addiction to video games...

Although, I guess it's ok as long as there is no lead in the controls...

:flag::pray::pray::flag:

[Its any henna]

You know, I sometimes wonder how we ever survived the 20th century. As children, many of us rode in the front seat of cars - without even wearing seatbelts. I remember standing up in the front seat sometimes as a child. We didn't have warings on coffee cups that the coffee might be hot. We read books that were printed before this cutoff date. How in the world did the world survive all those years?
I think a lot didn't survive. The national highway fatality per capita rate dropped from about 3.4 per 100,000,000 vehicle-miles traveled in 1980 to 1.4 in 2005.
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/pubs/pl08021/images/figures/Fig7_5.gif
Can't imagine what the rate was 25 years before that!

[Physics Hunter]

This is all over the internet. Attribution Link (http://www.snopes.com/rumors/binch.asp). But I am not here to bury Suess, but to praise him...

Hopefully the B'linch will be full of lead too, and any slight to Seuss assuaged.

"
Every U down in Uville liked U.S. a lot,
But the B'linch, who lived Far East of Uville, did not.
The B'linch hated U.S! the whole U.S. way!
Now don't ask me why, for nobody can say,
It could be his turban was screwed on too tight.
Or the sun from the desert had beaten too bright
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.

But, Whatever the reason, his heart or his turban,
He stood facing Uville, the part that was urban.
"They're doing their business," he snarled from his perch.
"They're raising their families! They're going to church!
They're leading the world, and their empire is thriving,
I MUST keep the S's and U's from surviving!"

Tomorrow, he knew, all the U's and the S's,
Would put on their pants and their shirts and their dresses,
They'd go to their offices, playgrounds and schools,
And abide by their U and S values and rules,

And then they'd do something he liked least of all,
Every U down in U-ville, the tall and the small,
Would stand all united, each U and each S,
And they'd sing Uville's anthem, "God bless us! God bless!"
All around their Twin Towers of Uville, they'd stand,
and their voices would drown every sound in the land.

"I must stop that singing," B'linch said with a smirk,
And he had an idea-an idea that might work!
The B'linch stole some U airplanes in U morning hours,
And crashed them right into the Uville Twin Towers.
"They'll wake to disaster!" he snickered, so sour,
"And how can they sing when they can't find a tower?"

The B'linch cocked his ear as they woke from their sleeping,
All set to enjoy their U-wailing and weeping,
Instead he heard something that started quite low,
And it built up quite slow, but it started to grow-
And the B'linch heard the most unpredictable thing...
And he couldn't believe it-they started to sing!

He stared down at U-ville, not trusting his eyes,
What he saw was a shocking, disgusting surprise!
Every U down in U-ville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any towers at all!
He HADN'T stopped U-Ville from singing! It sung!
For down deep in the hearts of the old and the young,
Those Twin Towers were standing, called Hope and called Pride,
And you can't smash the towers we hold deep inside.

So we circle the sites where our heroes did fall,
With a hand in each hand of the tall and the small,
And we mourn for our losses while knowing we'll cope,
For we still have inside that U-Pride and U-Hope.

For America means a bit more than tall towers,
It means more than wealth or political powers,
It's more than our enemies ever could guess,
So may God bless America! Bless us! God bless!
"

[zantax]

I don't know about the video games, but I know our local library lends movies and CDs. I wouldn't be surprised to find that they DO lend video games as well.

I'll have to look into that the next time I go over. To be honest, I never thought too much about it - but you make a good point. I'd like to know if my taxes are supporting some kids addiction to video games...

Although, I guess it's ok as long as there is no lead in the controls...

:flag::pray::pray::flag:


Well, I thought the idea behind libraries was to bring books to the general public, you know, knowledge, wisdom, reading comprehension. Not to subsidize entertainment. Next thing you know, they'll put in an arcade, slot machines and free slurpies.

[JerryN]

You know this is just ********.
Just because you can measure something does not necessarily mean there is a hazard.
With advancements in electronics and sensors we can detect some materials in parts per Billion.

Just for perspective, do you have any idea what one Part Per Million is?
My swimming pool holds about 15,000 gallons. Each gallon is 64 ounces.
15,000 X 64 = 960,000 ounces, or slightly less than a million ounces.
So 1 PPM would be the same as one ounce in a swimming pool - less than a shot glass!
So 1 PPB(illion) would be 1/1000 of an ounce diluted in a swimming pool - about 1 drop.

Now obviously some materials _could_ be hazardous at a 1 PPM concentration or even 1 PPB.
Others are not. Some require extended exposure at such low level concentrations.

The scare about lead resulted from kids chewing on cribs or windowsills that had lead paint.
This would give them a fairly high exposure at an age where their bodies were growing rapidly.

This is a far cry from the exposure resulting from the tiny amount of lead in ink contacting their fingers.
I agree that they might lick their fingers, its still a tiny dose and not over an extended time.

Pulling the fire alarm every time you smell smoke doesn't make sense either,
but that's essentially where we are with our haz-mat crews called out on almost every spill.

How on earth did man evolve over thousands of years without these sensitive instruments and ubiquitous haz-mat crews???

[Grey Swan]

Well, I thought the idea behind libraries was to bring books to the general public, you know, knowledge, wisdom, reading comprehension. Not to subsidize entertainment. Next thing you know, they'll put in an arcade, slot machines and free slurpies.

I guess it's part of a cultural change that cannot be denied, sadly. It cannot be denied that the internet has changed the public impression of a library's purpose - or its necessity. Now it is apparently a video/entertainment center as well...

If the videos draw a few to the books - and perhaps a curiosity, at least, about what else is there - perhaps they will have served a greater purpose...

:flag::pray::pray::flag:

[RTchoke]

Weren't we being told just about a month ago on these boards, this law was NOT going to do this? I remember people saying those that were worried about the ramifications were over reacting? :confused:

[Grey Swan]

Weren't we being told just about a month ago on these boards, this law was NOT going to do this? I remember people saying those that were worried about the ramifications were over reacting? :confused:

There are so many things which we discussed on these boards, beginning long before the election, that we were laughed at and ridiculed for. So many saying that, if we weren't just outright liars and bigots, we were, as you say, over reacting - warning about things that WOULD NEVER HAPPEN.

Right.

I'm almost afraid to mention anything anymore because it seems like every day another "it will never happen" happens!

Now it's "legitimate" reasons to consider removing books from the libraries...

PLEASE - let it never happen in the USA.

:flag::pray::pray::flag: