Public libraries, in many peoples' everyday lives, play an important role by representing a source for free information for the public's interests, and different people have different ideas and interests. Public Libraries, to the extent that their budgets permit, provide information that the public can access depending on their interest and their own values without a cost. Public libraries also provide the public with information on different sides of controversial issues. On some occasions, public libraries contain material that some part of the public finds not appropriate, offending, or even threatening. It is up to those people to make choices depending on their own beliefs and valu ...view middle of the document...
In our modern society, there is no place to confine readers to what one believes is suitable for younger readers. Since appropriateness is a matter of taste and taste cannot be legislated, what one believes is not suitable, another might believe is appropriate. For children and adolescence, appropriateness is a matter of maturity of the child. Since parents have the responsibility of preparing the young to meet the diversity of experiences in life and deciding if their child is mature enough for some aspects of life, they have the responsibility of deciding if a reading material is suitable for their own child. Therefore, parents should decide to censor their children from reading materials, not someone else, nor the library. Since public libraries are known to be sources for free information for any variety of view points for anyone, no adult should be confined to read what one believes is appropriate for younger readers.Academically, public libraries serve the educational system by providing knowledge and ideas required for the growth of the mind and the increase of learning. The definition of public libraries is a source that provides the public with a great range of information without any inferences of excluding materials on any side of a controversial iss...
