Will we lose a treasure of children's lit?

Overlayered had an interesting post yesterday, about the impact of the "clarification" from the CPSA about the impact of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) on the irreplaceable treasury of children's literture.

(Yes, the CPSIA is still alive and way too well, and only continued pressure will change anything since the House voted to keep the CPSIA as is.)

From Overlawyered: As readers are aware, the Consumer Product Safety Commission yesterday advised thrift stores and other resellers and distributors of used goods to discard (unless they wished to test for lead or take other typically unpractical steps such as contacting manufacturers) children’s books printed before 1985 and a very wide range of other children’s products, including apparel and playthings.

Already, thrift stores, resale stores, and used bookstores are destroying books printed before 1985: books which cannot be replaced because most no longer have needed plates to reprint, and which were out of print before the digital age.

Quoting from Overlawyered again: A “relabel everything as collectible” strategy is, however, of limited legal help to retailers, because the law provides that they are liable if they sell a product which will commonly be understood as destined for use by children, whether or not they label it as such.

So I ask, "Will we lose a treasure of children's literature? Will our children and their children and their children's children be the ones most harmed?"

Only we can change this terribly poorly crafted law -- by continuing to apply pressure on our Senators, Representatives, officials, and the CPSA. If we lessen our efforts, the law will take its toll on our nation in ways that can never be undone.


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