Librarians may hear rumors that the Consumer Product Safety Commission will require that children will be barred from using library books until they are certified as free from lead contamination. Well, it is more than a rumor, but don’t panic. Here is the word from the Washington office of the American Library Association:
“Within the last few days, ALA and others in the “book” community (other librarians, publishers, teachers, booksellers, etc.) became extremely concerned after seeing that the CPSC intended to include books in the definition of “products to children” that would need to be certified as safe. This concern was heightened by a letter from the General Counsel of the CPSC – a letter that states that books are not exempt from the law.
Please stand by – there is no need to take action at this time… The ALA Washington Office is taking measures to ensure this ruling (CPSIA) will not affect libraries and has sent a letter to all Congressional offices alerting them to the fact that we believe CPSC General Counsel has erroneously interpreted the CPSIA to include books.”
I am confident that this misunderstanding will be cleared up soon, and we will post a confirmation of that as soon as possible.
Jim Minges
Jim Minges is the Director of NEKLS. You can reach him by email (jminges (at) nekls.org) or by phone. Visit the 
