Privacy of Library Records

In response to the debate in Vermont about a new privacy law, the Burlington Free Press published an eloquent piece from Judah Hamer, who is president of the Vermont Library Association

In a library, the right to privacy means the right to open inquiry. Individuals must be able to seek information about any subject without fear of judgment, criticism or scrutiny of others. Freedom of speech is meaningless without the freedom to receive information; they are the underpinnings of a healthy democracy. While many Vermont libraries already provided confidentiality protection, the new law provides greater assurance to patrons across Vermont that their reading habits and research interests are private matters that they alone can decide to share with others. It's just one of the many ways we continue to serve our communities.

Privacy, computers and libraries

Several interesting items regarding libraries and the net and law enforcement....

In Vermont, Children's Librarian Judith Flint, held off the police who came in demanding to seize the computers in the children's area.

Flint demanded a search warrant, touching off a confrontation that pitted the privacy rights of library patrons against the rights of police on official business.

"It's one of the most difficult situations a library can face," said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, deputy director of intellectual freedom issues for the American Library Association.

Investigators did obtain a warrant about eight hours later, but the June 26 standoff in the 105-year-old, red brick library on Main Street frustrated police and had fellow librarians cheering Flint..... A new Vermont law that requires libraries to demand court orders in such situations took effect July 1, but it wasn't in place that June day. The library's policy was to require one.

Jessamyn West has blogged more on the incident and some of the ramifications. Amy Grasmick, Library Director of the Kimball Library, has added an eloquent post along with sound guidelines for libraries on how to handle such an incident.

The American Library Association has provided quite a bit of information about handling inquiries from law enforcement and includes a comprehensive collection of suggested policies for dealing with privacy issues in the library.

Ryan Singel has post on the Wired Blog about the third strike against COPA (Child Online Protection Act) as the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld on Tuesday a 2007 lower-court decision that the act was unconstitutional. Interesting reading in the comments section follows