[OPLINLIST] Childrens Book Lead Content Action

[Susan Pieper]

Hello,
I received the following info from the ALA Washington Office and am
forwarding this information to children's librarians. You may have already
received it. If that's the case, sorry for the duplication. Here is the
info:

A public meeting was held January 22 with Kristina Hatlelid, Directorate for
Health Sciences, and other Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff
to allow Allan Robert Adler, of the Association of American Publishers, and
major publishing companies to discuss the lead content of books.  The
meeting was a time for the publishing companies to explain their research to
the CPSC staff that proves that normal books (non-play, paper books) do not
contain lead in the amount specified under the CPSIA.  The publishing
companies have compiled a group of 300 test results that can be viewed at
this link: http://www.rrd.com/wwwCPSIA/home.asp

After the meeting, Cheryl Falvey, General Counsel for the CPSC, stated that
a decision should be made by the first week of February.  She advised
libraries not to take any action at this time, and we are hopeful that the
Commission's decision will exempt libraries.

Even with her assurances, we must let the CPSC know how important an issue
this is to libraries.  You can visit their Web site,
http://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/newleg.aspx to submit your comments to the
Commission.  Explain to the Commission that it is simply impossible for
libraries to remove all children's books from the shelves and/or ban
children under 12 from the library and still provide the level of service
that is needed.

Please feel free to use the sample language below, but personalize it to
make your comments known.  Studies have shown that individual letters are
significantly more effective than form letters, so let's make sure they
understand how important their action will be.

The only way we will be successful in ensuring that children will have
access to safe books is with a strong grassroots effort.  Your comments to
the CPSC need to be submitted as soon as possible, so please tell all your
friends and family – we need as many people as possible to communicate that
this oversight could have lasting ramifications on our children and our
communities.
SAMPLE TEXT:
Dear General Counsel Falvey:
It has come to my attention that the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act
of 2008 has been interpreted to include books as a product that must be
tested for lead.  While I can understand the need to protect children from
toxic materials, publishers have already tested the book components and
found that the lead levels are lower than the regulations require three
years from now.  Additionally, all book recalls in the last two decades have
been because of toys attached to the books that posed a choking hazard, not
the books themselves.
Making these testing regulations retroactive would require both school and
public libraries to take drastic steps to come into compliance.  They would
either they would have to ban children from their libraries or pull every
book intended for children under the age of 12 from their bookshelves at the
time children are fostering a lifelong love of learning and reading.
In order to allow children and families to continue accessing critical
library materials, please either exempt books from the Consumer Product
Safety Improvement Act of 2008, accept the component tests that have already
been done, or exempt all books currently in school and public libraries.
This will ensure that our children continue to have access to safe and
educational library materials.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME


-- 
Susan Pieper, Director
Paulding County Carnegie Library
205 S. Main Street
Paulding, OH 45879
419-399-2032 voice and 419-399-2114 fax
Editor, Rural Library Services Newsletter
www.pauldingcountylibrary.org
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