Children are Kingfisher Memorial Library’s best asset, yet the library staff and library board of directors are facing issues regarding lack of supervision, internet safety and vandalism, said Michael Tautkus, library director.

In order to gauge the opinion of the community, a message was posted to one of the library’s Facebook pages, “Kingfisher Librarians,” asking parents if the librarians should be tasked with babysitting unsupervised children who are dropped off at the library.

The post had drawn 41 comments, reassuring librarians that parents in the community share the same concerns as library staff members about the issues raised, said Tautkus.

“In general, the children that come into the library are well-behaved and we appreciate that,” he said. “We do not want parents to feel like they cannot drop their children off at the library.”

The main issue is kids who are being dropped off unsupervised and do not obey or listen to the librarians if they have to step in and tell them to calm down or be quiet.

Tautkus said he is concerned because this can be distracting to other patrons who are visiting the library.

However, the main concern is not noise levels, but safety.

Tautkus compared dropping off a child at the library to dropping off a kid at a mall.

The library is a public place and librarians cannot be held responsible for monitoring who may walk in and potentially engage in conversation with the children, he said.

“We have no rules that kids cannot be left alone; they just need to be well behaved and we want parents to know the risks involved,” said Tautkus.

The library board of directors, which includes Brian Walter, president, Glen McIntyre, Jean Crosswhite and Vicky Jech, approved a federally-regulated policy called the Children’s Internet Protection Act.

Under CIPA regulations, children 17 or younger are considered minors.

The board is looking into adopting an additional policy which would require all parents to sign an internet release form for minors before they can use one of the 12 public access computers available.

Tautkus added that there are already internet filters in place, but this cannot prevent the children from using forms of online communication such as email, which is one of the safety concerns.

There is currently a two-hour time limit on internet usage and the librarians can lower the amount of time a child spends on the computer from the circulation desk.

The library is also planning on implementing a messaging system that allows librarians to send messages directly to the computers to warn children to quiet down or else their time will be limited.

Tautkus added that none of these concerns apply to the summer reading programs because there are adults present at the programs to supervise the children.

The library has also faced issues of vandalism.

Over the past three years, children had been picking at the laminate on the tops of the tables, according to Tautkus.

New tables were purchased through the Friends of the Library fund to replace the damaged ones and there have been additional improvements made to create a space that people in the community can come to read, create and study.

Library shelves have been rearranged to free up space to create children, teen and adult lounges.

New age-appropriate furniture will be placed in each lounge area.

“We want them to be able to relax, sit down and read,” said Tautkus. “Before, there wasn’t really a space for people to lounge.”

New carpet has been placed and an area has been cleared for four children’s computers.

These computers do not have access to the internet, but instead have many preloaded educational games.

“We want to provide a place for kids to learn without distractions and be safe,” said Tautkus.

There will soon be a private study area near the windows that has dividers to give people a distraction-free area to study, Tautkus explained.

The library also has a discovery room with equipment for teen programs such as a flight simulator that was used for the Flight Club.

There is also software for creating and editing videos and music.

“I hope to one day receive FCC licensing for a radio station for teens,” said Tautkus.

He also shared that the board of directors has been looking into building a new library by 2030 that will include separate rooms to encourage creativity and learning.