Maine Librarians Worried About Childrens' Books

BREWER (NEWS CENTER) -- A new law designed to insure that kids' products are safe of dangerous lead content may have some unintended consequences for Maine libraries.

The law bans the sale of children's products that contain dangerous amounts of lead. The law also makes it illegal for libraries to have books that have dangerous levels.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is putting together a list of exemptions to the rule, but right now children's books aren't on that list.

A spokesperson for the commission says that the law doesn't mandate that libraries test the books for lead - they just have to be able to prove that the books are safe.

Representatives from the publishing industry have tested books and presented its findings to the commission -- saying that books are safe.

If those findings aren't approved, local librarians say the only way to assure parents that books are safe would be to test the lead levels.

"The cost would be unbelievably high for them to test all these books so we could keep them in the library and how long would we go without them if every library in New England sends them to the same lab?," said Donna Rasche, librarian at the Brewer Public Library.