Several libraries around the country are trying to spice up
““ and speed up ““ the way people interact with them
online. But there’s a catch, and it’s called the
Patriot Act.
These libraries ““ including one at North Carolina State
University ““ are testing a computer system that tracks the
books, journals and videos that patrons browse, then tailors a list
of recommendations on a personalized Web site, much as Internet
vendors Amazon.com and Netflix do now.
The system can also send patrons electronic alerts when a book
they’re interested in becomes available, and include links
from a patron’s personal library Web site to online resources
he or she might find interesting. The system is designed to make
browsing libraries more convenient and speed up research.
Implicitly, it’s also geared toward attracting younger
library-users who are accustomed to Internet sites that pander to
their personal tastes.
But those pushing the system have run into a dilemma: While it
might make life more convenient for book-lovers and students trying
to throw together a paper on the fly, it also will potentially give
the federal government access to vast amounts of personal
information on library patrons, which officials can tap based on a
provision in the Patriot Act.
Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act ““ which was passed
shortly after Sept. 11, 2001 and gives the government sweeping
powers to fight terrorism ““ specifies that FBI officials can
order libraries or other institutions to produce “any
tangible things (including books, records, papers, documents and
other items) for an investigation to protect against international
terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities.”
Currently, the government does not have to prove that the
individual whose records it is seeking is connected to a terrorist
group or suspected of terrorist activities, and those who are
forced to turn over the records cannot discuss it with anyone.
The provision is used about 30,000 times each year by federal
agents, and libraries have gone to court to protect their patrons
from what they deem is an invasion of privacy. Congress is
considering changes to the act, including ones to Section 215, but
those talks have largely been tabled until after the Thanksgiving
recess.
This editorial board ““ as well as many academic
institutions ““ has long held that the leeway the Patriot Act
grants to federal agents risks impinging on academic freedoms and
the free exchange of ideas, cornerstones of the university. But the
hesitation shown by librarians to introduce the computer system
that track patrons’ reading habits suggests the act is
impinging on another area ““ the development of new
technologies.
Granted right now the examples are minor ““ after all, on
the list of important things the act has squashed since its
inception, library reading lists probably fall toward the bottom.
But given the rapid change of technology, it will only be a matter
of time before researchers and developers will have to juggle
giving the public services and tools it needs versus giving the
federal government carte blanche to violate civil liberties.
That’s not a choice researchers should have to face, and
it’s something lawmakers should keep in mind when debate over
the act renews after Thanksgiving.