Chekhov's Mistress
A Truly Patriotic Act
The Denver Post Online reports that the Boulder Public Library is standing up to what they believe is a violation of public rights in the Patriot Act (the anti-terrorism law passed after 9/11), which requires businesses, including libraries, to disclose records for federal investigations. The library gets around the law by destroying all records – of what each patron checks out – every day.
The article states that “if a federal agent asks a Boulder librarian for a list of all the books checked out by John Q. Public in the last month, the answer will be ‘Records? What records?’” and quotes the library manager as saying “People have a right to read what they want to read without other people looking over their shoulder.”
While it appears that this is a subtle change in policy since records are usually destroyed within weeks or months, the symbolism, I believe, is potent and commendable.
Article: Library Thwarts Patriot Act Snooping, DenverPost.Com July 29th, 2003. (Article may expire in 14 days of posting, but can be found in their archive search).
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About this Post
- Posted by: Bud Parr
- Date: July 30, 2003
- Filed Under:
Dismal/Dismaler: Econ/Politics
- Comments:0
- Links to this Post: Technorati
