Citrus County library director to roll out optional restricted-access youth library card by year’s end

Library Director Adam Chang told the Citrus County Library Advisory Board that the library will introduce an optional restricted-access library card parents can request for their children and intends to roll the system out by the end of 2025.

The parent-selected card will allow checkouts only from juvenile collections (picture books, early readers, juvenile fiction and nonfiction, juvenile graphic novels, juvenile CDs/DVDs and the library’s STEM kits) and will block borrowing of adult and young-adult materials. Director Chang said the card will also restrict access to the library’s main public computers and to digital services such as OverDrive/Libby, Interlibrary Loan and streaming services; in-library browsing of materials will remain unrestricted. Chang said parents can convert an existing child card to the restricted card or switch back if they choose.

Why it matters: supporters said the card gives parents more control without removing material from shelves,…