NAKED CAME A STRANGER

Re Patrick Groff’s letter (July 7), it is indeed unfortunate that some librarians abrogate their responsibility to provide free access to information in a seeming attempt to “protect” children. However, to state that “it is a basic professional responsibility of children’s librarians to make censorious judgments as to which books are fit for children to read” is totally erroneous.

The “professional responsibility” of the public librarian is to provide a broad and relevant collection for information, education and recreation. This is equally true for children and adults.

It is our responsibility to make information readily available to meet the highly diverse desires and needs of our public. It is the responsibility of each parent to make judgments as to what books are “fit” for their child.

PENNY S. MARKEY, Coordinator of Youth Services, County of L. A. Public Library, LOS ANGELES