Local library objects to USA Patriot Act

By Carl Mickelson, Green Bay News-Chronicle

WASHINGTON ISLAND - On May 20, the Door County Library Board fired a warning shot at the USA PATRIOT Act. While they didn't score a direct hit - after all, the USA PATRIOT Act is federal law - they did send a message to state and Congressional leaders that the act treads much too heavily on individual privacy rights. After less than 30 minutes of discussion, the board voted unanimously to have the library's director, Becca Berger, send letters to Congressional legislators asking that libraries and private bookstores be exempt from Section 215 of the act. Section 215 allows federal agents to check what library patrons are reading, who they're sending e-mails to, and what Web sites are being visited using public computers. The PATRIOT Act itself greatly expanded the Federal Bureau of Investigation's surveillance and investigative powers in the name of protecting the United States against international terrorism. Critics contend the most egregious aspect of the act is that probable cause, the traditional standard for retaining a warrant to conduct a search, is essentially thrown out the window. In addition, library staff are forbidden from informing patrons that they're the subject of an investigation. Supporters of the act say the Sept. 11 terrorists used library computers to plan their attacks and that the events of that day call for more stringent regulations to protect Americans from an enemy that follows no rules of engagement. At the meeting, Jack Jordan, a resident of Baileys Harbor and member of the library board, said he found section 215 "repugnant." "The burden on our library staff to act as secret informants is wrong. I move that we as a board, send a letter to our ... representatives to recommend them to take another look at section 215 and whether or not it might be unfair, and infringing on privacy rights. And whether that's an unfair burden on library staff," he said. He also challenged legislators to look at the constitutionality of the act. Jordan's motion is similar to the content of the Freedom to Read Act, a bill introduced in Congress by Bernie Sanders, an independent congressman from Vermont. "Before (the government) had to have a court order. Now it's a rubber stamp procedure," Jordan said. Nobody on the board opposed his motion or defended the merits of the PATRIOT Act. Sharon Virlee, a high school librarian and member of the board agreed that Section 215 goes well beyond what's needed to aid an investigator involved in a case. Many cases have been solved when investigators supplied search warrants, thus no change to the original law was necessary, she said. "That was not taking anyone's rights away. But with this - it does seem to be taking some rights away," Virlee said. In the year 2000, computers in the Door County library system were used by more than 39,000 users, Berger said. Use of those computers doubles during the tourist season when visitors and foreign workers who've come to Door County to make a living log on to check e-mail accounts. The board did not have to pass any resolution. However, in recent months, libraries across the nation have been scrutinizing the ramifications of the PATRIOT Act. It was the passage of a resolution in March by the Santa Cruz library board in California that piqued the interests of the Door County Library Board last month. However, the board tabled the item then, in order to research what other libraries have done, if anything, in response to the PATRIOT Act. Rather than take the same course as the Santa Cruz library board - which called for "warning signs" outlining the ramifications of the PATRIOT Act to be placed in branch libraries - the Door County Library board chose what Jordan referred to as a "middle course." Jordan called the Santa Cruz resolution excessively harsh and bordering on "propagandistic." The posting of warning signs, he said, is counter productive, and could have "a chilling effect" on both foreign workers employed in Door County and people who are already "mildly afraid of government." Instead, he suggested a brochure, summarizing section 215, should be made available to library patrons who ask for it. Berger pointed out that the Door County library doesn't keep records on patrons except for materials that are currently checked out. However, she said, due to the complexity that came with the computer age, she could not say for certain whether some records were kept on backup computer servers indefinitely. "Often libraries find they have more information then they wish they had," she said. "If someone hasn't erased the backup tapes, what we think is gone, could still be there." By state statute, the library board, not the Door County Board of Supervisors, has the last word on the matter, Berger said. "We have to protect our patrons constitutional rights. It's part of our job," Virlee said.