Posted on 06/24/2002 3:34:40 PM PDT by Asmodeus
WASHINGTON –– The FBI is visiting libraries nationwide and checking the reading records of people it suspects of having ties to terrorists or plotting an attack, library officials say.
The FBI effort, authorized by the antiterrorism law enacted after the Sept. 11 attacks, is the first broad government check of library records since the 1970s when prosecutors reined in the practice for fear of abuses.
The Justice Department and FBI declined to comment Monday, except to note that such searches are now legal under the Patriot Act that President Bush signed last October.
Libraries across the nation were reluctant to discuss their dealings with the FBI. The same law that makes the searches legal also makes it a criminal offense for librarians to reveal the details or extent.
"Patron information is sacrosanct here. It's nobody's business what you read," said Kari Hanson, director of the Bridgeview Public Library in suburban Chicago.
Hanson said an FBI agent came seeking information about a person, but her library had no record of the person. Federal prosecutors allege Global Relief Foundation, an Islamic charity based in the Chicago suburb, has ties to Osama bin Laden's terror network
The University of Illinois conducted a survey of 1,020 public libraries in January and February and found that 85 libraries had been asked by federal or local law enforcement officers for information about patrons related to Sept. 11, said Ed Lakner, assistant director of research at the school's Library Research Center.
The libraries that reported FBI contacts were nearly all in large urban areas.
In Florida, Broward County library director Sam Morrison said the FBI had recently contacted his office. He declined to elaborate on the request or how many branch libraries were involved.
"We've heard from them and that's all I can tell you," Morrison said. He said the FBI specifically instructed him not to reveal any information about the request.
The library system has been contacted before. A week after the Sept. 11 attacks, the FBI subpoenaed Morrison to provide information on the possible use of computer terminals by some of the suspected hijackers in the Hollywood, Fla., area.
In October, investigators revisited the county's main library in Fort Lauderdale and also checked a regional library in Coral Springs.
At least 15 of the 19 hijackers had Florida connections.
The process by which the FBI gains access to library records is quick and mostly secret under the Patriot Act.
First, the FBI must obtain a search warrant from a court that meets in secret to hear the agency's case. The FBI must show it has reason to suspect that a person is involved with a terrorist or a terrorist plot – far less difficult than meeting the tougher legal standards of probable cause, required for traditional search warrants or reasonable doubt, required for convictions.
With the warrant, FBI investigators can visit a library and gain immediate access to the records.
Judith Krug, the American Library Association's director for intellectual freedom, said the FBI was treading on the rights it is supposed to be upholding.
"It's unfortunate because these records and this information can be had with so little reason or explanation," Krug said. "It's super secret and anyone who wants to talk about what the FBI did at their library faces prosecution. That has nothing to do with patriotism."
Krug tells worried librarians who call that they should keep only the records they need and should discard records that would reveal which patron checked out a book and for how long.
She is frustrated by the hate mail she says she receives when she speaks out against the Patriot Act.
"People are scared and they think that by giving up their rights, especially their right to privacy, they will be safe," Krug said. "But it wasn't the right to privacy that let terrorists into our nation. It had nothing to do with libraries or library records."
Some libraries said they will still resist government efforts to obtain records.
Pat McCandless, assistant director for public services for Ohio State University's libraries, said, "State law and professional ethics say we do not convey patron information and that is still our stance.
"To the best of our ability, we would try to support patron confidentiality," she said.
Seen posted outside a church several years ago.Still excellent advice.
There are no good guys in the fbi vs. the librarians.
You're not a conservative, you're a statist.
So it's okay to let the FBI monitor anything it wants because a terrorist has used it. Gee that would mean potentially: all public transportation, taxis, telecoms, and the internet. So nice of you to call for the repealing of the 4th amendment. *insert ben franklin quote about security and freedom here.* As for the internet monitoring goes, given enough time and publicly availible documentation I could probably write encryption software that would defeat their monitoring. But why would I need to do that? There are plenty of commercial packages that would meet my needs already, SSH being the best one. Oh $hit, look out now guys, they're calling for the outlawing of Computer Science classes because they might aid terrorists!!!
Answer: A NATIONAL police force !
A National Police is as dangerous to freedom and liberty as a Standing Army the Writers of the Constitution warned against 250 years ago.
No, but in a tax-funded public library, when I KNOW the librarians are against us, I'd rather have mohammed atta picked up than my grandkid view pornography.
So make it efficient and ethical. I'm all for accountability. But you are the one who is stupid or naive if you think we do not need a national police force of some kind. I'm sure Al Qeada would love to have no FBI to worry about.
False premise. The Clintons didn't need a law in order to abuse it.
Laws restrain the law-abiding. The lawless ignore the law, whatever its name or intent.
Mostly you and a LOT of FReepin' Folk are just plain confused.
Every dictator also ate food and breathed air.
Can you name one country that does not have a national police force? No, because they all have one. Are they all dictatorships?
The FBI was created for very good reasons. Local law enforcment is great, but some things require a national police force.
I believe the FBI is onto something here. Possibly learned from some loose lipped captives at Gitmo (Cuba).
With the way the FBI has been handling Al Qaeda they might as well not exist for all Al Qaeda is concerned. You want to make terrorism a risky gambit on American soil? Announce that every intelligence agency has been given the green light to use any means necessary to extract information from terrorist-prisoners. Then follow that up by announcing that the military will be order to shoot to kill any individuals engaging in an act of terrorism and that the lives of hostages will be disregarded by the military while it is carrying out its mission. That would do two things: show Al Qaeda that we are deadly serious and tell them that there are officially no "human shields" anymore. And just for good measure, in major areas like NYC and DC, put SAM batteris on the police force's buildings' roofs which can be used by special police units to shoot down any hijacked aircraft if a F-15 cannot get to them first. Sending the FBI to fight Al Qaeda is like sending Jimmy Carter to play hardball with Castro.
A literate agent is a better agent!
I'll pray for you and for our Republic.
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