Yee haw! Thanks to the Patriot Act, federal authorities can legally get information about what I have been checking out from the library and buying from the bookstore. Rep. Bernie Saunders of Vermont tried to add "The Freedom to Read" amendment to the Patriot Act. But this was ignored and rejected in various necessary committees.
Is this because in DC they don't believe Americans read anymore? Or are they dying to know who among their political opponents has checked out or recently purchased: "Dragon Breath: My life with halitosis" or "Coping with the Fungus Among Us." Having a library that has open stacks and no surveillance cameras might be the closest thing you get to reading in private these days or borrowing books from your friends. Let them take the heat.
2 comments:
had many, many an interesting discussion about this in my ethics course for my Master's in Library Science program.
PLD: Folks I know in the library school feel very strongly about people getting access to knowledge and about privacy.
There are bookmarks all over the main library letting people know about the patriot act and directing people to the website sof organizations that oppose it.
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