- Children under the age of 6 can only be in the library between 16:30 and 17:30 hours, and children under the age of 2 are directly prohibited. They also suffer from other exclusionary measures. Blatant discrimination only alienates children from literature and many citizens are fighting a long time. The Municipal Government, for its part, does not intend to change its position, according to the note.
“The promotion of reading from childhood is one of the priorities of the library of Deba,” said the City of Deba, but the library’s prohibitions do not reflect it. The library will hardly convey its fondness to reading if it rejects them. Children under 2 years of age cannot be in the library, so the adult user who has the child in arms, backpack or cart cannot be either. Children from 2 to 6 years, except from 16:30 to 17:30, are prohibited from accessing the library for the rest of the hours, so on many occasions they cannot be accompanied by family and friends of different ages. That is, until 15 years old they cannot be in the library in the morning (the 7-9 years old have the library authorized from 16:30 to 19:00, the 10-15 years from 16:30 to 19:45).
What does the municipal government say?
“The fact that children of any age go to the library at any time would impede the peaceful atmosphere that is desired and would make it difficult to meet the needs of other users and users,” the municipal government of Deba believes. But what view do they have of children? And how to teach coexistence and respect between many generations (and needs) if they are prevented from meeting others? In addition, should the criterion not be to draw attention to misuse of books and library, rather than paralysis? Even more unintelligible are the measures of the municipal library Ostolaza de Deba, which has a children's library, separated from crystals within the general library and with its own door. In addition, the children's library has its own librarian, dedicated all day long, although children cannot be in the library in the morning.
But what view do they have of children? And how to teach coexistence and respect between different generations (and needs) if they are prevented from meeting others?
The mayor of Deba, Alazne Txurruka, has been a librarian of the children’s library for years, “and she has taken the case very personally; she has no intention of changing, saying that so far it has been like this, that they have worked like this... The members of the PNV support and have a majority in the City Hall”, tells us a member of the Denontzat Library initiative. The citizen group Liburutegia Denontzat has been denouncing these bans for a couple of years and pressuring them to change.
What else you can't do in Debbie's library if you're a child
Discrimination against children is evident. The adult can use the library in the morning and in the afternoon, bring the book he needs from another library and “make a drawing, make a crucigram, watch a video, listen to music, read… But children are not allowed to paint, they cannot use paintings ("because we talk about library and not about library", they argue from the municipal government), nor can you ask for a children's book from another library, what sense does it make? Throughout the year, moreover, nothing is organized for them, neither stories of stories, nor presentations of books, nor workshops,” said Denal Library member. In addition to demanding the elimination of discriminatory hours, the group is fighting for a living library that goes beyond the loan: “He’s dead.”
"Children are not allowed to paint, cannot be asked for a children's book from another library and throughout the year nothing is organized for them, neither stories of stories, nor book presentations, nor workshops."
Signatures, meetings, collection of testimonies…
Since its inception, the Liburutegia Denontzat initiative has not been paralysed. They have met with the City Hall and the librarians (“today the children’s librarian joins us, but the library’s technician is completely closed to change”); they have collected 500 signatures in the town, asking for an end to the discrimination; they have organized a “street library” that caters to all children; they have started collecting testimonies from the users who denounce the situation… but the municipal government has not voted against. Citizens have come to the Library Service of the Basque Government, as the library of Deba is on the network, although they have not received a reply at the moment. Because the measures implemented are not covered by library regulations, this group of citizens has also raised disobedience so that boys and girls can enjoy the library at any time.
“The library is a necessary service, but not an urgent one,” notes the minutes of the Citizenship Commission, among the reasons that justify the prohibitions.