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Patriot Games

Explore the timeline and impact of the Patriot Act 2001-2004 on libraries, highlighting advocacy efforts, responses, and tech-oriented strategies. Understand national and California responses, with survey results and recommendations for library staff and users.

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Patriot Games

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  1. Patriot Games Libraries and the Patriot Act 2001 – 2004 Karen G. Schneider, kgs@bluehighways.com California Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee May, 2004

  2. Patriot Act Timeline • Mid to late 1990s: versions of the Patriot Act circulate • October, 2001: Patriot Act hustled through Congress • October 2, 2001: ALA, AALL, and ARL issue joint statement • October 12, 2001: ACLU sends letter asking Congress not to vote for Patriot Act • October 26, 2001: Patriot Act becomes law

  3. Patriot Act Press Coverage • First NYT citation 10-2-2001 • 263 citations since then • First NYT editorial 11-24-2001 (Frank Rich) • California Library Association newsletter article runs November 2001 (Mary Minow) • First American Libraries column 3-2002 (K.G. Schneider)

  4. The Usual Suspects: Our Team • ALA, national and chapters • AALL, MLA, ARL • ACLU, EFF, CDT, etc. • Local community groups • Booksellers

  5. The Usual Suspects: Their Team • FBI • Current Administration • John Ashcroft • Anyone capitalizing on the “anti-terrorism” bandwagon

  6. National Library Response • Immediate response from ALA Washington Office, prior to bill passage and since then • Strong resolution widely distributed • Aggressive coalition-building • Forthright response to Ashcroft from ALA President Carla Hayden • Videoconferences, programs, Web sites, etc.

  7. California Responses • State-level resolution • Participate in developing national resolution • Work with Southern California ACLU on www.privacyrights.org • Articles for CLA newsletter, Web site • Work with Northern California ACLU on ad campaign • Host visits from Bernie Sanders • Survey for Sac Bee article series • Program at CLA Annual • Establish Zoia Horn Intellectual Freedom Award

  8. Sacramento Bee: “Liberty in the Balance” Survey Summary

  9. CLA Survey: Other Highlights • 91% of all respondents had downloaded information from www.libraryprivacy.org • 78% of all respondents routinely shred paper documents such as sign-up sheets • 73% routinely delete computer files

  10. Who has Expressed Concern About the Patriot Act? • Library administrators: 57% • Library staff: 71% • Library board members: 35% • Library users: 42% • Library volunteers: 13% • Local government officials: 21% • Local reporters: 25%

  11. FBI Interest in Libraries • Libraries informally contacted: 5% • Libraries formally contacted: 4% • Libraries formally or informally contacted that did not comply with the FBI’s requests: somewhere between 80% - 150%* * Due to a bug in the survey software, respondents who said they hadn’t had visits were still able to answer the questions about whether or not they had complied.

  12. Activities Recommended By Respondents • Distributing bookmarks or flyers (49%) • Encouraging staff to discuss Patriot Act with users (37%) • Providing related Web sites (30%) • Holding programs (30%) • Sharing information with boards or community meetings (30%) • Posting signs warning about Patriot act (40%)

  13. Tech-Oriented Responses • Log-washing (coined by Roy Tennant) • Preemptive exclusion (don’t keep what you don’t need) • Technology audits • Communicate with tech people—they have our values even when they do not speak our language!

  14. http://lii.org/patriotact Find out more about the Patriot Act…

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