Throughout the U.S. and Canada many children are spending their afterschool hours at public libraries until being picked up by a working parent Budziszewski, 1990. While public librarians have traditionally welcomed the use of library resources by children, library latchkey youth are a controversial issue among librarians because most public librarians feel that they are not trained to be caregivers; that their libraries do not have sufficient staff to provide child care; and that their facilities are not equipped or licensed to function as a substitute for child care centers.

Website: http://www.ericdigests.org/1992-4/latchkey.htm