[Peace-discuss] Fwd: [ALACOUN:8750] USA PATRIOT Act resolution - text

[Alfred Kagan]

FYI, from the American Library Association meeting, passed on 
Wednesday in Philadelphia.
>
>
>2002-2003 CD # 20.1
>2003 ALA Midwinter Meeting
>
>                RESOLUTION ON THE USA PATRIOT ACT AND
>                RELATED MEASURES THAT INFRINGE ON THE
>                        RIGHTS OF LIBRARY USERS
>
>
>WHEREAS, the American Library Association affirms the
>responsibility of the leaders of the United States to protect and
>preserve the freedoms that are the foundation of our democracy;
>and
>
>WHEREAS, libraries are a critical force for promoting the free
>flow and unimpeded distribution of knowledge and information
>for individuals, institutions, and communities; and
>
>WHEREAS, the American Library Association holds that
>suppression of ideas undermines a democratic society; and
>
>WHEREAS, privacy is essential to the exercise of free speech,
>free thought, and free association; and, in a library, the subject of
>users’ interests should not be examined or scrutinized by others;
>and
>
>WHEREAS, certain provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, the
>revised Attorney General Guidelines to the Federal Bureau of
>Investigation, and other related measures expand the authority of
>the federal government to investigate citizens and non-citizens, to
>engage in surveillance, and to threaten civil rights and liberties
>guaranteed under the United States Constitution and Bill of
>Rights; and
>
>WHEREAS, the USA PATRIOT Act and other recently
>enacted laws, regulations, and guidelines increase the likelihood
>that the activities of library users, including their use of
>computers to browse the Web or access e-mail, may be under
>government surveillance without their knowledge or consent;
>now, therefore, be it
>
>RESOLVED, that the American Library Association opposes
>any use of governmental power to suppress the free and open
>exchange of knowledge and information or to intimidate
>individuals exercising free inquiry; and, be it further
>
>RESOLVED, that the American Library Association
>encourages all librarians, library administrators, library governing
>bodies, and library advocates to educate their users, staff, and
>communities about the process for compliance with the USA
>PATRIOT Act and other related measures and about the
>dangers to individual privacy and the confidentiality of library
>records resulting from those measures; and, be it further
>
>RESOLVED, that the American Library Association urges
>librarians everywhere to defend and support user privacy and
>free and open access to knowledge and information; and, be it
>further
>
>RESOLVED, that the American Library Association will work
>with other organizations, as appropriate, to protect the rights of
>inquiry and free expression; and, be it further
>
>RESOLVED, that the American Library Association will take
>actions as appropriate to obtain and publicize information about
>the surveillance of libraries and library users by law enforcement
>agencies and to assess the impact on library users and their
>communities; and, be it further
>
>RESOLVED, that the American Library Association urges all
>libraries to adopt and implement patron privacy and record
>retention policies that affirm that “the collection of personally
>identifiable information should only be a matter of routine or
>policy when necessary for the fulfillment of the mission of the
>library” (ALA Privacy: An Interpretation of the Library Bill
>of Rights); and, be it further
>
>RESOLVED, that the American Library Association considers
>that sections of the USA PATRIOT ACT are a present danger
>to the constitutional rights and privacy rights of library users and
>urges the United States Congress to:
>
>1)	provide active oversight of the implementation of the USA
>PATRIOT Act and other related measures, and the revised
>Attorney General Guidelines to the Federal Bureau of
>Investigation;
>
>2)	hold hearings to determine the extent of the surveillance on
>library users and their communities; and
>
>3)	amend or change the sections of these laws and the
>guidelines that threaten or abridge the rights of inquiry and free
>expression; and, be it further
>
>RESOLVED, that this resolution be forwarded to the President
>of the United States, to the Attorney General of the United
>States, to Members of both Houses of Congress, to the library
>community, and to others as appropriate.
>
>
>Initiated by: Committee on Legislation
>Cosponsored by: Committee on Legislation and Intellectual
>Freedom Committee
>Endorsed by: OITP Advisory Committee, LITA, Intellectual
>Freedom Roundtable
>Endorsed in principle by: ACRL, ALTA Executive Board, ALSC,
>ASCLA, AASL Legislation Committee
>Prior History: CD#19.1 January 2002, CD#20.5 January 2002,
>CD#20.3 January 2002
>

-- 


Al Kagan
African Studies Bibliographer and Professor of Library Administration
Africana Unit, Room 328
University of Illinois Library
1408 W. Gregory Drive
Urbana, IL 61801, USA

tel. 217-333-6519
fax. 217-333-2214
e-mail. akagan at uiuc.edu