The Library and the Latchkey. The public library has played a historic role in serving the nation's youth. In the early 1900s, Ann Carol Moore began developing children's services at New York Public Library based on her observation of the needs of young people in New York City. Current trends are again influencing youth services in libraries. It is not surprising that great numbers of children are in the public library unattended after school, on school holidays, and during emergency closing days such as snow days.
Some libraries see the increasing number of children as an opportunity to improve youth services.
This paper was an attempt to gather information about latchkey children in libraries and to make recommendations for public library policy. However, addressing the needs of this special population is complicated by the difficulty in classifying young library users. Some librarians believe that labeling children is unimportant and that all children should have equal access to service regardless of their status. While protecting these rights, however, the security and safety of children are often at risk. In the case of injury to a child while on library property, the lack of written policy jeopardizes staff, children, and the library's administration.