Librarians assail record ‘fishing expeditions’
Deborah Zabarenko writes for Reuters:
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.
posted by Fergie @ 6/21/2005 11:52:00 AM
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