BY DIANA GRAETTINGER
OF
THE NEWS STAFF
Taking
its name seriously, the Calais Free Library is asking patrons to support a bill
sponsored by U.S. Rep. Bernard Sanders of
The
move is in response to the USA Patriot Act, passed shortly after
The USA Patriot Act allows the FBI to demand records of patron reading habits from bookstores and libraries.
The staff of the Calais Free Library, with its 30,000 books, is urging patrons to contact their congressional representatives to support Sanders’ bill.
“Public libraries are synonymous with freedom, especially freedom of speech,” Sotirelis said in a prepared statement. “We do not take this freedom lightly. We are the defenders of this right for everyone who enjoys checking out books from his or her local library. I do not think many people realize that their right to check out books without government scrutiny is even an issue. Sadly, it is, however.”
The USA Patriot Act was designed to expand the powers of federal law enforcement officers in responding to terrorism. Under the act, the FBI can request the records secretly, and the agency does not have to show probable cause that the individual had committed a crime or is connected to a foreign power.
“Under this legislation,” the American Library Association said on its Web site, “the FBI would still have access to these records with a court-ordered search warrant but some type of reasonable cause would be required, not the lower standard, created by the USA Patriot Act.”
The proposed legislation was sponsored and co-sponsored by more than 60 representatives, the majority of them Democrats.
Neither
of
Michaud didn’t indicate Monday whether he would support the Sanders’ proposal.
“It
is important not to sacrifice our liberties in our effort to provide greater
security,” Michaud said in a prepared statement. “While I would like to address
the concerns raised by the USA Patriot Act, I would also like to see some new
approaches to detecting threats than we had before
Allen’s communication director, Mark Sullivan, said the congressman has not yet had an opportunity to examine the bill.
“He has grave concerns about how this attorney general has administered the existing legislation that the Congress enacted post-9-11,” Sullivan said. “These are the kinds of civil liberties issues that he is most concerned about, protecting the public’s right to information and right to privacy.”
Sullivan said Allen was not optimistic the bill would come up for a vote under the current leadership.
Several
libraries in
A
library in
BY DIANA GRAETTINGER
OF
THE NEWS STAFF
Mark Corallo, Justice Department spokesman, said Wednesday that critics of the USA Patriot Act were “completely wrong” and denied that the act targeted Americans.
Corallo characterized the information disseminated about warrants for information concerning library patrons’ reading habits as a “propaganda campaign.”
He said the Justice Department was considering holding public hearings around the country to explain and debate the Patriot Act.
“I don’t know why they are misleading the public, but they are,” he said of the act’s critics Thursday. “The fact is the FBI can’t get your records.”
Librarian Marilyn Sotirelis this week placed information sheets in the Calais Free Library warning patrons about the USA Patriot Act and asking them to contact Maine’s congressional representatives in support of the “Freedom to Read Protection Act,” a federal bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont.
“Our patrons,” Sotirelis said, “should not have to be concerned about this issue of user privacy and open access to knowledge and information.”
Sotirelis has the support of the
“There is a consensus of the board that our rights to privacy are being infringed upon,” Chairman Pamela Bridges said Thursday, “and we strongly support the library’s effort to make changes in this area.”
The
USA Patriot Act was passed shortly after the
Some people believe the USA Patriot Act allows the FBI, armed with a search warrant, to demand records of patron reading habits from bookstores and libraries. Under the act, the FBI can request the records secretly and the agency, some believe, does not have to show probable cause that the individual has committed a crime.
Corallo said that to get a search warrant, the FBI had to
convince a federal judge that “there is probable cause that the person you are
seeking the information for is a terrorist or a foreign spy. … This does not
apply to American citizens or a green-card holder unless you can convince a
federal judge who sits on the
The
secret
Under Sanders’ proposal, the FBI would need to show reasonable cause to get reader information.
During the past few days and months, Sotirelis, along with Sanders, the American Library Association and others, have expressed concern that Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act may violate an individual’s privacy rights with regard to what they read.
Although the act does not target libraries specifically, the library community is “troubled” by the law.
“For
one thing, the law supercedes state confidentiality laws protecting library
records,” Melora Ranney
Norman,
Since last summer, the American Civil Liberties Union and others have sought statistical information from the Justice Department about its use of Section 215 in libraries and bookstores via the Freedom of Information Act.
“To
date, the DOJ has refused to supply that information, claiming the information
is classified,” the
“The
law can apply to
Barkin said Sanders believes the law goes against the constitutional rights of Americans. “They should have to provide more probable cause on that kind of issue,” he said.
The Maine Civil Liberties Union also said that Section 215 does not provide for any judicial oversight.
Louise Roback, MCLU executive director, said Thursday that the USA Patriot Act goes to the heart of First Amendment rights.
“If … the FBI says ‘give us records on everything [your patron] has been reading,’ well, you might think twice about what books you choose the next time you’re in the library,” Roback said. “It’s that chilling effect that is of great concern.”
BY DIANA GRAETTINGER
OF
THE NEWS STAFF
The
voice of librarian Marilyn Sotirelis continues to be heard loud and clear in
On
Thursday, the Maine Civil Liberties Union issued a statement designed to prod
The MCLU sent a letter to the delegation, asking the members to take a closer look at the portion of the Patriot Act that gives federal law enforcement agencies new powders to examine private records even if police do not have probable cause that the target of a search was involved in a crime.
Sotirelis’
outcry also is being heard through other media. The Wall Street Journal and
Sotirelis remains convinced, in spite of Justice Department’s claims to the contrary, that a section of the 2001 Patriot Act gives the FBI the right to look a her patrons’ reading lists.
“I am not sorry that his library, although small in size, but big in many other ways, brought forth the information concerning Section 215 of the Patriot Act to the people of this section of northern Maine. To me a library is synonymous with information as well as freedom,” Sotirelis said Friday.
The Justice Department denies that the law targets Americans and claims that the library and others are spreading misinformation.
But if that’s true, the veteran librarian said, why hasn’t the Justice Department contacted her?
“It appears that their interpretation of this section of the Patriot Act is totally different from the one I get when I read Section 215 over again and again,” she said Friday.
A portion of Section 215 states that the director of the FBI can make application for an order from a federal court to require the production of books, records, paper documents and other items for an investigation, provided such investigation of a U.S. person is not conducted solely upon the basis of activities protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution.
She
also challenged the Justice Department, which through its spokesman said it
would hold public meetings to allow open debate on the issue, to hold its first
meeting in
Now Sotirelis’ efforts are attracting attention far and wide.
Earlier
this month, Sotirelis, along with U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders, a
Sanders has introduced legislation that would exempt libraries and booksellers from the Patriot Act.
Although the Patriot Act does not target libraries specifically, the library community cays it is “troubled” by the law.
The
Patriot Act was passed shortly after
A Justice Department’s spokesman said earlier that Sanders and others were “completely wrong” and denied that the Patriot Act applied to Americans. In order to obtain a search warrant, a spokesman for the Justice Department said, the FBI had to convince a federal judge that there was a probable cause that the subject was a terrorist or a foreign spy. The spokesman also denied that the law applied to American citizens or a green-card holder “unless you can convince a federal judge who sits on the FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] Court that this person is a foreign spy or a terrorist.”
The
secret
Critics
of Section 215 believe that the level of proof needed to support the issuance
of a warrant under the Patriot Act is much lower than that required to secure a
standard search warrant. Because of the secrecy of the
Despite the media attention, Sotirelis said Friday, the goal of the library was to “place the facts, as we know them, for each person to look at and make his or her own decision.”
A copy of the law is on the library checkout desk along with information about contacting U.S. Reps. Michael Michaud and Tom Allen, about signing on to Sanders’ bill.
“We
feel that Benjamin Franklin said it all when he made this statement. “They that
can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve
neither liberty nor safety,” Sotirelis said.
U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe’s press secretary said the senator had received the MCLU letter and had written to the Justice Department. “Sen. Snowe is asking the Department of Justice to answer us on the specifics raised by the Maine Civil Liberties Union and others,” press secretary David Lackey said.
“I will look into this matter,” U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said Friday. “We will need to continue to evaluate the practical effects of the legislation to ensure that the provisions intended to facilitate the apprehension of terrorists do not overly infringe on the privacy rights of Americans.”
U.S. Rep. Tom Allen’s communication director said Allen and others have heard reports that the Justice Department plans to propose something called Patriot Act II. “I think that before we move to look at Patriot Act II, Tom was suggesting revisiting Patriot Act I,” said spokesman Mark Sullivan.
Michaud also has expressed concern. “I have heard from many constituents about the USA Patriot Act and there is a great deal of concern and confusion surrounding the law,” he said Friday.
Michaud also called for the Justice Department to hold public forums and to clarify statements their press secretary made about the Patriot Act.