GILROY
– Although its Santa Cruz counterpart has recently followed
suit, Gilroy and county librarians remain torn over whether they
should post information telling library-goers the government may be
watching them.
GILROY – Although its Santa Cruz counterpart has recently followed suit, Gilroy and county librarians remain torn over whether they should post information telling library-goers the government may be watching them.
Since Congress passed the anti-terrorism inspired Patriot Act of 2001, law enforcement’s surveillance and investigative powers have been broadly expanded. The law allows the government to more easily find out which books library users are borrowing and where they spend their time online when using library computers.
“Basically, the government can access our records without a subpoena or court order. The FBI, for example, could come in and just ask for patron records and we would be expected to comply,” Gilroy Head Librarian Lani Yoshimura said.
“This is different from anything we’ve experienced before,” said Melinda Cervantes, the county’s head librarian. “I want to get the pulse of libraries around the county before we decide to post information that could have a chilling effect.”
Since the American Library Association is opposing this section of the Patriotic Act, Cervantes also wonders if posting the sign would be read by patrons as a political statement. Cervantes said librarians have always had to cooperate with investigators who have subpoenas or court orders, but similar warning signs have never been displayed.
“I want to know what’s motivating us to put up this information when we haven’t done so before,” Cervantes said.
Santa Clara County libraries, Cervantes said, do not retain records after a patron has returned a book or other material to the library.
“That’s a built-in privacy mechanism our software has always had,” Cervantes said.
The Santa Cruz notice, which libraries began posting last week, says, “Warning: Although the Santa Cruz Library makes every effort to protect your privacy, under the federal USA Patriot Act (Public Law 107-56), records of the books and other materials you borrow from this library may be obtained by federal agents. That federal law prohibits library workers from informing you if federal agents have obtained records about you. Questions about policy should be directed to Attorney General John Ashcroft, Department of Justice, Washington D.C. 20530.”
Regular Gilroy Library patron Roxanne Reynoso wouldn’t mind seeing a little more publicity of the Patriot Act.
“I don’t mind the law. It makes me feel safer,” Reynoso said. “I think it should be posted (in the library) so people are more aware.”
Since the Patriot Act’s inception, no government inquiries have been made in Gilroy or Santa Clara County, Yoshimura and Cervantes said.
Morgan Hill resident John Newton also feels safer with the law in effect.
“I don’t care at all if the government is looking at what I read,” Newton said. “I have nothing to hide.”
