The controversial United States Patriot Act, signed into law by President George W. Bush in October 2001 as part of his efforts to promote homeland security, is hitting home for patrons of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library branches in Charlottesville and Albemarle County.
The Patriot Act, which many have alleged infringes on individual civil liberties, was designed to give law enforcement officials greater autonomy in fighting terrorism in the wake of September 11, 2001.
Last week, the library system, facing requests from patrons and the City of Charlottesville, posted signs in all its branches informing patrons of the Patriot Act's Section 215, which allows federal government officials to freely obtain patrons' library records without being forced to tell library officials whose records they are examining.
The University library system has no plans to post signs reminding patrons of Section 215, Director of Library Communications Charlotte Morford said.
"We really focus on serving the faculty and the students and visiting scholars, so we obviously want to follow legal processes and we realize that these are tense times," Morford said. "At the same time, we simply rely on the University's general counsel" to help make these decisions.
The sweeping authority the Patriot Act grants the FBI to seize the records of public libraries seriously concerns the American Library Association, said Patrice McDermott, assistant director of the ALA Washington office.
"Without the name of a particular person and without ever having to show to a court that they have reason to believe a named person is either a spy or a terrorist, they can come in and see all of the records," McDermott said. "They can seize any tangible thing in a library -- not just the paper records -- but the [network] server, hard drives or the entire computer system if they wanted."
John Halliday, library director for the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library, said the FBI may have trouble finding much helpful information within its records despite anticipated results.
"I don't think our record keeping would be of particular interest to federal agents," Halliday said. "As long as you return your books on time, we don't keep any permanent records on what you've checked out."
Robert M. O'Neil, a law professor and director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, said posters like those placed in local libraries, may create a chilling effect for readers anxious about the government's expanded powers.
"Simply increasing the warning of what you're doing [with signs] might make some library patrons more cautious than they otherwise would have been," O'Neil said. "So in a strange way, it's not so much the terms of the statute that have the chilling effect, but the library's own decision to warn their patrons that there was that risk because of the law."
The provision regarding library records is the focus of one lawsuit fighting the Patriot Act recently filed against the federal government by the American Civil Liberties Union, O'Neil said.
According to Politics Prof. Larry J. Sabato, though, there is "not a chance" for repealing any sections of the Patriot Act at present.
"Bush had just proposed strengthening the Patriot Act and notice when he did it? The day before September 11," Sabato said. "What was the public's reaction to the massive media reaction on September 11? Anger and sadness. Most people said to friends, family or themselves, 'let's do whatever is necessary to keep this from happening again.'"
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