YALSA Mission Statement

The mission of the Young Adult Library Services Association is to advocate, promote and strengthen service to young adults as part of the continuum of total library service, and to support those who provide service to this population.

Specifically to teen privacy and access to information, YALSA advocates the young adult's right to free and equal access to materials and services, and assists librarians in handling problems of such access.

Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is the world's largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service to children. From creative programming and best practices to continuing education and professional connections—ALSC members are innovators in the field of children's library service.

A great resource for Young Adults is this pamphlet aimed at teens to promote intellectual freedom. This material is done through the ALSC to help libraries speak to the teens.

“In the library, privacy means that no one but the library employee knows the names of the books, movies, music, or other items that you borrow from the library. The library must keep confidential the materials that you check out and may not share with anyone the titles or any personal information about you —such as your name, address, or telephone number” (ALSC).

John Katz

In the article, The Rights of Kids in the Digital Age, by John Katz, there are many discussions on why teens deserve the same basic rights within the library as adults. According to Katz, it is necessary for librarians and the public to realize that teens have the same rights as any other user in the library.

Katz points out that teens have the moral right to have access to information and technology, to media and cultural interactions. Also, it has been identified that though the use of filters, the library believes they are in control, but does not ensure the safety of the user.

ACLU: American Civil Liberties Union

The government can COLLECT INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT BOOKS YOU READ, WHAT YOU STUDY, YOUR PURCHASES AND YOUR MEDICAL HISTORY. The USA Patriot Act gives law enforcement broad access to any types of records – medical, financial, gun, library, educational, sales, etc. – without probable cause of a crime. It also prohibits the holders of this information, like librarians, from disclosing that they have produced such records, under threat of imprisonment. The court orders are issued by a secret intelligence court in Washington and judges have little power to deny applications.

Interesting Facts according to the ACLU

CIPA does not require libraries to install blocking software. If a library does not receive federal funds, CIPA does not require it to install blocking software. CIPA does require libraries to install and utilize the software if they want to continue to receive federal e-rate or some LSTA funds. The decision only applies to e-rate money or LSTA money linked to Internet access. Thus, if a library's only use of e-rate money is for phones or if their LSTA money has nothing to do with Internet access, libraries can continue to receive the money and refuse to install the software.

CIPA treats minors differently from adults (minors are defined as people under 17). There are two differences outlined in the statute. First, minors must be blocked from ""visual depictions"" that are harmful to minors, obscene, and child pornography. Adults must be blocked from ""visual depictions"" that fit the latter two categories, but not the first. Second, adults can always request unblocking.

Family Friendly Libraries is an organization that finds serious problems with libraries. These issues include:

• "The trend to abandon classic literature and genealogical materials and replace it with popular fiction, gossip magazines, and video games.
• The trend to place books with gratuitous sexually explicit and graphic violent content in what is deceptively called the "young adult" section, which but actually serves children ages 12 and up" (Family website).