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, while others cautioned the measure could create barriers for teens and vulnerable young people who rely on library resources. The director framed the policy as a parental-choice tool rather than a library-led censorship program and emphasized staff workload and technical steps needed before launch.

Chang said technical work remains on collection mapping, creating checkout-rule access levels in the library catalog and coordinating access settings with vendors. “This is all still a work in progress…we’re looking at rolling this out by the end of the year in 2025,” he said. He described the operational behavior: when a restricted card is scanned at checkout, the system will flag or block items that fall outside the juvenile collection rather than physically preventing in-library access to shelves.

Public comment at the meeting reflected both support and concern. Michael Connell, a Floral City resident, called the idea “fabulous,” saying it “doesn't affect anyone in the public negatively in any way.” Speakers who oppose tightening restrictions argued the existing card and parental controls already allow families to manage access, and that some young people—particularly those in nontraditional or unsafe home situations—could be harmed if access to information is limited.

Board members pressed staff on several points: how the restricted card will treat children who are near the young‑adult age band; whether Beanstack summer‑reading accounts or children’s in-branch computers would be affected (Beanstack will not be blocked; in-branch children’s computers set aside for juvenile use would remain available); and how mistakes or misclassifications will be handled during rollout. Chang acknowledged occasional classification errors will occur and said staff will train to reduce them.

The director said other Florida systems have implemented similar multi-level cards and that Citrus County’s version aims to strike a balance between parental choice and literacy access. “If a parent makes that decision…we are gonna try to make sure that everything is as it should be,” Chang said.

Next steps: Chang outlined a timeline of behind‑the‑scenes tasks—collection reclassification, vendor configuration, new card artwork and production, staff training and public communications—and said staff will continue testing before a public launch. The board did not take a formal vote; the chair said the choice to move forward has been made by the director and staff and that a motion was not required.

Supporters and critics said they want clear public guidance at rollout; Chang said the library will publish application updates, signage at circulation desks, website information and social-media notices when the card becomes available.

The meeting record shows the board discussed the item at length but offered no formal action on the card itself; it will be implemented by library staff following the technical and training work described.