Newswire - 'John Doe' Librarians Recognized During Banned Book Week

JOHN DOE

The Norwalk Hour

Jamie Hammon

Boston University Washington News Service

9/28/06

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 —Four Connecticut librarians were honored Thursday for defending the privacy of their patrons from government access.

The “John Doe” librarians, comprised of the executive board of Library Connection, Inc., a Hartford based consortium of libraries, acquired their title in 2005 when they refused to surrender patron information requested by the FBI in a National Security Letter.

The librarians refused to comply with the letter, declaring their – and the law’s – commitment to patron privacy. They are Executive Director George Christian, President Peter Chase, Secretary Barbara Bailey, and Board Member Janet Nocek.

“The letter was a shock to us,” Chase said. “We are librarians. We believe deeply in intellectual freedom “We believe that the choice of what [patrons] read and research in the library should be private – that privacy is recognized by law in 48 states.”

The case was taken to court and the FBI eventually dropped it – a victory for intellectual freedom advocates which was highlighted at the Banned Book Week celebration at the National Press Club. Banned Book Week honors the unhindered freedom to read provided under the nation’s democracy.

National Security Letters, issued by the FBI under the original USA Patriot Act of 2001, authorize the demand of records without prior court approval. Anyone who receives a letter is forbidden to speak of the record demand to anyone.

Of the 150,000 National Security Letter recipients, the John Doe Librarians are the only four allowed to speak, said Christian. The American Civil Liberties Union defended the librarians in court when they refused to surrender the patron information to the FBI.

In the name of national security, the federal government demanded of Christian “all subscriber information, billing information and access logs of any person” that used a specific computer at a particular library branch. Though the librarians acknowledged the importance of the terrorist threat, they said their commitment to patron privacy as supported by the law was their first priority.

“If Library Connection had received a proper court order, we would have complied without any problem,” Chase said. “But the letter we received had no court order with it.This National Security Letter can be served on anyone – you do not have to be suspected of committing any criminal act to receive one.”

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