Apparently being shhh-ed in a library is no laughing matter.
Donnetta Foster, a 20-year-old single mom, is preparing for a jury trial to fight against a disorderly conduct charge she received after she was ejected from an Atlanta library because her son was laughing, according to a report in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The 14-month-old boy was amusing himself with animal flash cards while his mom, a full-time college student, was using a library computer to prepare for a job interview.
After being told to leave, Ms. Foster admits she objected to the ejection, but says any cursing she did was outside, away from the library.
The police report, however, states that her refusal to leave the library is why she got slapped with a criminal trespass warning, and then the alleged screaming scene she created once police showed up accounts for the criminal charge.
"She was loud. She was upset. She was emotional," said Mawuli Mel Davis, Ms. Foster's lawyer. "But it did not warrant her being arrested."
With a court date set for Sept. 13, Ms. Foster is "terrified" of being jailed over the incident.
"This could change everything for me, my son, our future," she said. "I'm really trying elevate things in me and my son's life and get us to a place where we can be secure as far as financially and stable in our home life."
She is hoping that once a jury hears her side of the story, they will see why she doesn't deserve to be charged. There is no word, though, on whether library officials feel their response to protecting the holy silence in a library was an overreaction.
With many restaurants banning children for being too loud, is there no place for a parent to bring their vocal kids?
Libraries have certainly morphed in the last few years as they fight for relevancy in an ever-digital culture. Some even have teen lounges with gaming consoles and big-screen televisions and seniors' spaces with a fireplace. But even in these rebooted book houses, there is, apparently, still no place for a child's laughter.
Is it time that libraries give up their silence policy? Or should parents be punished if their kids are a little too boisterous around serious bibliophiles?
Madeleine White