Will Children’s Books Disappear Under the New Law?

News consuming the children’s book publishing world revolves around the words “lead free.”  A new law, The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, enacted in August 2008 and going into effect February 10, 2009, deals with the need for toys to meet specific lead free standards.  This is a result of the toys found containing lead that originated in China.

Now strict standards are being applied to those manufactured in the United States, as well as those coming from foreign countries.  This affects the large manufacturers as well as small businesses, home businesses, and craftspeople.

Books aimed for children 12 and under apparently are grouped among these “toys,” and book publishers are scrambling to adhere to the new child safety law.  This will apply to self-publishers, too.  Confusion reigns regarding whether and how much resellers, thrift shops, and e-book sellers of used books and the like are affected.

Then the question arises, “Will libraries and schools have to have their books tested or get rid of them?” Interpretation of the new law isn’t entirely clear. 

Is this a new way to censor and ban books?  How will you be affected by it?

For more details, read Book Printing Hits Child Safety Scramble.