Furious that a convicted sex offender allegedly raped a 6-year-old boy in the downtown library, New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang is pushing for barcoded ID cards for anyone using a library in the city.
Lang, a lawyer and former Bristol County prosecutor, said the goal would be to let librarians know exactly who was in their building, when they arrived, and when they leave. Guests would also have to get special ID cards, he said.
"That will be as much for [library] identification purposes as to try and prevent this type of predator from coming into the library,' said Lang. "I am going to err on the side of protecting kids, families, mothers, fathers."
He also wants to ban all Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders from libraries because they are places where children gather.
Lang is reacting to the alleged attack on the boy by Corey Deen Saunders, a Level 3 offender, who is being held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing set for tomorrow in New Bedford District Court. Police say that on Jan. 30, Saunders, 26, raped the boy between the library's tall bookshelves on the second floor, just a few feet from the child's mother, who was working on a computer and was unaware of what was happening.
But Lang's proposal on ID cards and banning sex offenders got a cool reception yesterday from the head of the state agency overseeing library financing and from a top official at the Boston public library system.
While acknowledging that Lang is reacting to a legitimate concern, they said such a plan may undermine a bedrock principle that free public libraries open their doors to all, provided it can be done safely.
Em Claire Knowles, chairwoman of the state Board of Library Commissioners and a top dean at Simmons College in Boston, said through a spokeswoman that increased staffing will make libraries safer.
"Part of the rush to implement new security measures is the outrage and sorrow we all feel at what happened to the young boy in New Bedford," Knowles said through the spokeswoman. "Our first act in making libraries more secure should be to make sure they are well-staffed."
Knowles added that libraries are a positive influence in society. "Security measures that may set up barriers or limit access to the library by law-abiding individuals are counter to the very purpose of libraries," she said.
Ruth Kowal, deputy director of the Boston Public Library, said such a plan would likely not be feasible in a system that sees 3.3 million visitors a year, as Boston does.
But she also said that requiring "everyone having some sort of a pass card to get in the door is a barrier. . . . I'd be hard pressed to want to see a barrier for that free access to be put in place."
Kowal said the library works closely with the Boston police, especially on the issue of sex offenders. But, she said, the library does not have a blanket policy banning Level 2 and Level 3 sex offenders.
She said the library does have security cameras in some of its libraries and will be installing more in coming years. Meredith Weenick, an aide to Mayor Thomas M. Menino, said the current safeguards are adequate to protect the public in Boston's libraries.
In New Bedford, the barcode is one of six ideas Lang is pushing for his library commission to adopt after last week's attack. He is also pushing for more security cameras and monitors library staff could watch.
"We've got a 6-year-old kid whose life has been changed," Lang said. "I am going to do everything I can to protect our children."
