Erosion of civil rights

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				THE
Column Archive				VIRGINIA GAZETTE
				WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA
Erosion of civil rights				July 23, 2003

You know we’re in dire straits when the only thing standing between us and a federal government bent on the worst sort of intrusion into our private lives is a bunch of librarians. Yet, in our area, at least, that seems to be the case.

Ever since the enactment, in October, 2001, of the absurdly-named USA Patriot Act, librarians and the American Library Association have been waving red flags and sounding ominous alarms about the insidious and insinuating secrecy associated with the act.

The ability of the government to wiretap our phones, invade our computers, intrude upon our financial and medical records, or clap us into the clink without filing charges is bad enough. But when the FBI starts mucking around in our reading habits, our normally quiescent librarians gird themselves for battle.

So vocal have they become that some places, like Arcata, Calif., have actually enacted ordinances urging local law enforcement officials and others, including librarians, to refuse requests from federal officials that would violate an individual’s civil rights under the Constitution.

Similar ordinances have been passed in 136 other communities, including ultra- conservative Oklahoma City. In addition, three states, Alaska, Hawaii, and Vermont, have passed laws disclaiming the validity and constitutionality of the Patriot Act.

Not so around here, however. In fact, in talking to local governing and legal officials, one gets the impression that none of them has actually read the act. As a result, they have no idea what would be required of them if the feds came to town. Nor are there any procedures in place either to deal or refuse to deal with requests. It’s just never come up, so why worry?

In fact, the only people around here who seem to care a whit about the potential infringement of our civil rights are the librarians, and they’re prepared.

While they have no interest in being carted off to the pokey for non-compliance with the act, the librarians at our regional and college libraries are not about to give in to demands for personal borrower information without a struggle.

According to Genevieve Owens, assistant director of the Williamsburg Regional Library, staff members have been instructed to check carefully the validity of subpoenas or search warrants and the credentials of those bearing them. If all seems in order, the materials are then submitted to the director of the library. If he is satisfied that the request meets the demands of the law, he will pass it along to the county attorney for a final analysis.

Although county attorney Frank Morton seemed to be unaware of these procedures, he did indicate that he would take such requests seriously and would not agree to release information unless “every i was dotted and t crossed.”

Similar procedures are in place at Swem Library, where director Connie McCarthy would examine all requests and then pass them along to the university counsel, Dick Williamson, for final analysis.

Of more importance, however, is the fact that our libraries are striking all borrower records as soon as books are returned. That is, the only records that would be available for examination are ones that involve materials currently checked out or overdue. Hence, there are no “book trails” for prying federal officials to follow. Because there are no sign-on or password requirements for computer users, those records too are left in the realm of anonymity.

Typical of the dangerously inherent secrecy of the act is the fact that librarians and local officials cannot reveal whether their libraries or other institutions have been subject to federal incursion. Yet, we do know that, immediately after the disaster of 9/11, FBI officials did visit both our regional and college libraries in search of information about the hijackers. Given our proximity to so many military installations, they might well be back.

Presently in the House Judiciary Committee is a bill (HR 1157) called the Freedom to Read Protection Act, which would exempt libraries and bookstores from the provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. It is under this act that special courts issue subpoenas to delve into the private reading habits of individuals.

The reaction of Rep. Jo Ann Davis (R-1^st) to the bill is that the Patriot Act has no specific provisions directed at libraries or bookstores. Yet, according to the Justice Department’s own report to Congress about federal activities under the act last year, more than fifty libraries have been asked to cough up information about their borrowers.

There is little doubt of the danger to civil rights embodied not only in the various Patriot Acts, but in such related monstrosities as the Pentagon’s Terrorist Information Awareness program. While the war on terrorism is serious business, the very rights we should be protecting from the onslaught of terrorism are being eroded by huge databases of information manufactured by our government to spy not only on foreigners but on its own citizens as well.

It is to their great credit that our librarians have recognized the dangers inherent in these federal machinations and have set up procedures to insure that our right to read is not frivolously abandoned. With their refusal to keep reading records, as well as their worthy opposition to incredibly faulty Internet filters, they are preserving the precious right to intellectual liberty upon which this country has long been based.