The ACLU has a good Reform the PATRIOT Act page and blog to keep people aware of the continuing challenges that are occurring as the USAPA threatens to sunset and the Bush administration tries to make it permanent. [stuff]
Category: usapa
color me unsuprised, law enforcement do ask about patron reading habits
Libraries Say Yes, Officials Do Quiz Them About Users, in the NY Times today, according to the results of a recent ALA survey. While this is not evidence of USA PATRIOT Act abuses per se, it points to increasing concern on the part of law enforcement of what people are reading [the article points to a cases of libraries being asked for a list of patrons who had checked out a book about Osama bin Laden] in ways that compromise state library privacy laws. As of this morning, ALA has missed a chance to capitalize on this good press by having anything at all mentioning this study on the front page of their web site, pity.
Ms. Sheketoff at the [American] library association acknowledged that critics of the study may accuse the group of having a stake in the outcome of the Patriot Act debate. “Sure, we have a dog in this fight, but the other side has been mocking us for four years over our ‘baseless hysteria,’ and saying we have no reason to be concerned,” she said. “Well, these findings say that we do have reason to be concerned.”
Thank you Bernie Sanders
I try to explain to people why I stay in a state with difficult technology access and a lot of teeny tiny libraries that don’t pay very well [and only a few that do]. One of the main reasons is that all three of my national-level representatives are not disagreeable to me. Today Bernie Sanders managed to pass legislation in the House which would amend section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act and prohibit government agents from using FISA warrants to obtain records from libraries and bookstores. My two senators are trying to pass similar legislation in the Senate. Of course keep in mind that one of the reasons, according to Alberto Gonzales, that the Department of Justice hasn’t had to use the USAPA more is because they have been getting “voluntary co-operation from librarians” which is a different sort of problem. [liblaw]
patron privacy at the British Library & elsewhere
The Canadian Library Assocation posted a privacy briefing on how the USAPA was going to affect Canadian libraries [pdf]. Tom Morris asks the British Library what he can expect from them in terms of patron privacy in the age of the USA PATRIOT Act, the response is not encouraging. [lj]
“Unconstitutional” Screening and Panel Discussion at ALA
One thing ALA has done at recent conferences is have thought-provoking movies. This year is no different. Monday morning the 27th there will be a screening of Unconstitutional, a full-length documentary about the USA PATRIOT Act followed by a panel discussion with people on differing sides of the USAPA debate.