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FYI from your federal library gadfly on the wall... ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Reuters newswire article: [snip] U.S. librarians say they have been asked at least 268 times since 2001 to give law officers data about readers, despite repeated Justice Department denials that it is interested in patrons' reading habits. A survey released this week by the American Library Association found the inquiries from law enforcement came formally and informally -- that is, without a formal legal order -- to public and academic libraries. That is despite laws in 48 states and prevailing opinion in the other two that library information is private. "Now we have solid information that no matter what the Justice Department is saying, they are interested in libraries because they are coming, and not once or twice, but in appreciable numbers," Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the library association's Washington office, said on Tuesday. "There is an expectation of privacy when you walk into a library," she said in a telephone interview after the survey's release. [snip] More: http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2005-06-21T175915Z_01_N21617321_RTRIDST_0_USREPORT-SECURITY-LIBRARIES-DC.XML http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=News&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=96943 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- personal notes: 1) if you are interested in commenting on any federal policy issues, either on the record or off, please visit www.tcrc.net/FCCcomments.asp for an input page we're building in partnership with Consumer's Union. 2) as best I can ascertain, there is no truth to the rumored change of national motto to "One Nation, under surveillance" though I could have sworn the pyramid's eye on a new dollar bill was watching me last week. bless you all, gene crick director, TeleCommunity Resource Center member, Bastrop Public Library Technical Pep Squad new chair, FCC Rural/Underserved Urban Broadband Working Group
