Fast forward to today, where myself, my son, his speech therapist, and several other children were in the children's area, with the door firmly shut between the children's area and the rest of the library. Several children contributed to noise by screaming, laughing, crying, etc., as they tend to do, throughout the time that we were there. I barely even notice sounds like these anymore when I'm in a children's area of a library, because I assume this comes with the territory. Towards the end of my son's session my son began crying and the therapist and I were working through it with him as directed in his service plan. Suddenly, one of the librarians came into the children's area and directly addressed my child in an agitated tone, telling him "I know you're upset but you need to quiet down." When that obviously did not help him calm from over-stimulation, she proceeded to walk away and yell, "Yeah yeah, that's how I feel, too."
I will no longer attend any events at this Library. I hope that the library staff will consider what kind of an impact their employees make on impressionable young Hatboro citizens, and discuss what kind of an impact they want to have on the community overall.
Let me preface this review by stating that I am an avid library-goer, and that I love the community of Hatboro. There are several exceptional libraries in the area, but I enjoy the convenience of having a library within walking distance of our home, and one that also boasts a children's area and children's reading times. I looked forward to finding the same richness of history and kind-hearted people here, which so many other local establishments have.
When coordinating with my son's speech therapist earlier this week (he has Autism Spectrum disorder and receives a variety of services, many of which must be provided in a school or library), we decided that the Hatboro Library would be a convenient place to meet for services. Neither of us had used the library for early intervention services before, but we both had previous experiences with other libraries being extremely accommodating to early intervention sessions in the children's section of their library.
I understand the need to manage noise in a library setting, and I also understand the necessity of private rooms where services can be provided to help with that noise management. But, if that was the information this librarian wanted to convey, she could have simply addressed myself or the speech therapist, rather than yelling at my child.
I felt that this was extremely inappropriate. Upon our swift exit, she addressed the speech therapist and said "We have empty rooms in the basement next time, you know." Our speech therapist simply said, "We will be going to a library that is more accommodating next time," which apparently warranted a dirty look.
I realized today that it was foolish of me to make that assumption of the Hatboro library. I had heard stories from other parents and service providers who had visited the Hatboro library before, mentioning that the employees were not always accommodating to children, especially with service sessions, but I wanted to base my opinion on my own experience, because I had also heard several positive reviews.
I love the very old library.
So friendly, great for kids. It's an older library, but definitely has a ton of great kids programs!
Union Library Hatboro is a US Library based in Hatboro, New Jersey. Union Library Hatboro is located at 243 S York Rd, Hatboro, PA 19040, USA.
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