CLA Weblog Submissions
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Intellectual Freedom
October 13, 2009
California Library Association Passes Resolution to Restore Civil Liberties: USA PATRIOT Act
October 13, 2009 • SACRAMENTO, CA - The California Library Association (CLA) has just announced a resolution calling on Congress to dramatically revise the up-for-renewal USA PATRIOT Act, passed hurriedly in the weeks following the 9/11 attacks.
Librarians have been front-line opponents of certain provisions of the PATRIOT Act since its passage. The Act has made it possible, under Section 215, for the FBI to request and obtain library records for large numbers of individuals without reason to believe they are involved in illegal activity. This jeopardizes the basic ethics of the library profession, expressed in the Library Bill of Rights of the American Library Association.
Expanding on the American Library Association's PATRIOT Act resolution last July, the CLA resolution goes further to address imminent First and Fourth Amendment concerns with Section 505. This provision grants the FBI broad authority to sidestep constitutional safeguards though use of National Security Letters to obtain information.
CLA Intellectual Freedom Committee chair, Mary Minow, a leading expert on library law, said, "It's past time for the blatantly unconstitutional aspects of this legislation to be removed from the books, and now is the opportunity for Congress to act."
Two sections of the PATRIOT Act are currently up for reauthorization, with sunsets at the end of December 2009, and librarians across the country see this as an opportunity to correct those provisions that attack basic civil liberties. CLA's resolution calls for Congress to allow Section 215 to sunset, to amend Section 505 to "include a clear exemption for library records," and in general to intensify Congressional oversight of the use of the Act.
For more information, please contact:
Mary Minow, Chair,
CLA Intellectual Freedom Committee
408-366-0123
Amy Sonnie, Member,
CLA Intellectual Freedom Committee,
415-823-0497
Posted by claadmin at 12:18 PM
July 28, 2009
New edition of exhibit available for you to display for Banned Books Week - September 26 to October 3, 2009
I spoke with Donald Parker today and he'd like California librarians to know that his organization is making available a new edition of their exhibit for Banned Books Week (details below). He was part of the Pico team, and it was a treat to talk with him. Banned Books Week this year runs Saturday, September 26 to Saturday, October 3, 2009.
Mary Minow
Chair, CLA Intellectual Freedom Committee
=================
Censorship in Schools and Libraries" exhibit available for Banned Books Week – the last week in September.
The Long Island Coalition Against Censorship is an association of 22 educational and community organizations (16 are public libraries and professional library organizations). The purpose of the Coalition is to defend challenges to the First Amendment rights of public and school libraries when there are efforts by individuals or groups to censor books and other materials
In planning an exhibit for Banned Books Week in the fall, you might wish to consider displaying the new edition of our exhibit, “Censorship in Schools and Libraries.”
The 2009 edition of the exhibit presents 32 illustrations of censorship each one approximately 11" x 14" with accompanying text that is 11" x 14." The history of censorship in public libraries and schools highlights incidents of censorship that have occurred nationally during the last 150 years. Included are descriptions of the censorship of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, In the Night Kitchen, The Catcher in the Rye, and the novels of Judy Blume and Chris Crutcher. The censorship of Susan Patron’s novel, The Higher Power of Lucky, which was awarded the Newbery Prize, is in the new edition. A significant addition is the censorship of Vamos a Cuba which is currently being challenged In federal court. U.S. Supreme Court decisions including the landmark Island Trees book banning case are part of the exhibit.
Quality copies have been reproduced which may be readily presented on posters or bulletin boards in your library and then retained by you as a reference source. If your space is limited, we suggest that you rotate the incidents of censorship during the time the exhibit is on display. Excerpts from the exhibit are on our web site www.the-licac.org. Click on Exhibits, "Censorship in Schools and Libraries" (for a description of the exhibit) and then Selected Cases. You may order the exhibit by e-mail or sending a purchase order to the LI Coalition Against Censorship, PO Box 296, Port Washington, N.Y.11050. The cost of the exhibit including mailing charges is $40.00. We request payment by check within 30 days after you receive the exhibit. If you need any additional information our e-mail address is coalcen1@verizon.net or call (516) 944-9799.
Donald Parker, Co-coordinator, LI Coalition Against Censorship
Posted by Mary Minow at 2:12 PM
January 16, 2009
My Privacy: Safely Navigating Life Online
On the evening of Wednesday, January 28, in support of the second annual Data Privacy Day, Microsoft will host an interactive event around online privacy concerns, guidance and solutions. "My Privacy: Safely Navigating Life Online" will take place in the Koret Auditorium of the San Francisco Library. As our online world evolves, the risks to and feelings about individual privacy also changes. Microsoft believes it is important for different constituencies to share their understanding of privacy concerns to ensure that Internet users from all walks of life are educated and aware of the available privacy choices.
The event will begin with the presentation of a brief documentary based on the findings from a recent focus groups discussing their feelings about online privacy. Issues like cyberbullying, identity theft, online reputation management, and targeted online advertising all play a role in the everyday choices and challenges the focus group participants face. Following the documentary, BBC's Maggie Shiels will host a lively panel discussion, including panelists Hemanshu Nigam, MySpace Chief Security Officer; Joanne McNabb, California Privacy Chief; Peter Cullen, Microsoft's Chief Privacy Strategist and Jim Dempsey, Vice President for public policy for the Center for Democracy and Technology who will provide their point of view on online privacy. The event will be open to the public, and all are welcome to take part in the discussion. For further information, please visit: microsoft.com/dataprivacyday.
Posted by claadmin at 10:43 AM
February 15, 2008
Copyright Advisory Network, Free Service from ALA
The Copyright Advisory Network (CAN) is a Web site, bulletin board, blog and wiki established to help librarians discuss copyright issues with colleagues facing similar concerns, share solutions, and learn more about copyright from trained copyright specialists. Pose your copyright query on the Network Forum, and trained copyright specialists - known as the CAN Scholars - will respond to your question within 48 hours. The Scholars will not provide legal advice but informed opinion on your topic. Anyone can join the Network by registering at: www.librarycopyright.net. This is a free service offered by ALA's Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP). Contact Carrie Russell, Copyright Specialist at crussell@alawash.org with questions or comments.
Posted by claadmin at 1:33 PM
January 25, 2008
San Jose Public Library - Internet access update
I attended the San Jose City Council Rules Committee meeting on Wednesday. I spoke during the public comment period as CLA Intellectual Freedom chair and presented a letter from President Monique le Conge in support of intellectual freedom and the San Jose Public Library's open Internet access policy. CLAleCongeLetter2007Dec.pdf
In case you haven't been following the issue, a San Jose city councilman has proposed filters. The San Jose Public Library has a chronology of events, including a link to the filter proposal, staff response, and library director Jane Light's status report presented on January 23, 2008.
The issue will return to the Rules committee again, likely in March. If you live in San Jose, or know someone in San Jose (including kids, groups, churches, clubs etc.) who would be interested in helping support the library (letters, showing up at a meeting etc.), please let me know or ask them to contact me. Thank you.
Continue reading "San Jose Public Library - Internet access update"
Posted by Mary Minow at 11:02 AM
January 9, 2008
State Intellectual Freedom updates
State library association intellectual freedom activities are being updated, as we speak, at a wiki hosted by the American Library Association. The wiki is a follow-up to the ALA 2006 Law for Librarians seminar. You can see what other states are up to here: Law for Librarians wiki.
ALA also posts a roster of state library association intellectual freedom committee chairs. I am the chair this year, so give me a shout if you have intellectual freedom issues that you'd like our committee to know about. We're also always interested in your nominations for the Zoia Horn award, and your ideas for what you'd like to see at our annual conference program.
Continue reading "State Intellectual Freedom updates"
Posted by Mary Minow at 3:07 PM
October 24, 2006
Tracked in America
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American government surveillance didn't begin after 9/11. It started in 1798.
"Tracked in America: Stories from the History of U.S. Government Surveillance," a newly launched online documentary, marks the most comprehensive effort to examine the history of surveillance in America. Featured on the site are the personal stories of 25 individuals affected by surveillance and six historians who chronicle surveillance and dissent in America from 1798 to today.
In the documentary's first-person audio accounts, a range of people describe their experiences with surveillance through different periods of U.S. history: World War I and World War II, the Red Scares of the McCarthy era, the civil rights movement, protests against the Vietnam War, the sanctuary movement of the 1980s, and our current post-9/11 era. Of special interest to librarians is the introduction of John Doe, aka George Christian, who was gagged by a national security letter.
The California Library Association is proud to join in the promotion of the site and invites you to visit the free documentary here.
Posted by claadmin at 7:24 AM
August 29, 2005
Join in Defending Intellectual Freedom
Dear CLA Member,
A newly unsealed federal lawsuit confirms the FBI has used controversial Patriot Act powers to demand records from an organization that possesses a wide array of sensitive information about library patrons, including information about Internet usage and reading materials borrowed by library patrons.
The American Civil Liberties Union is seeking an emergency court order to lift a heavy FBI gag order on the lawsuit, so that its client -an ALA member- can participate in the public debate. That debate will heat up in days, as Congress prepares to reauthorize or amend the Patriot Act in September.
Because of the importance of this issue to libraries and their patrons, the Intellectual Freedom Committee of the California Library Association is partnering with the ACLU to encourage all CLA members to host a public event about the Patriot Act. We are making immediately available to all member libraries a DVD copy of Beyond the Patriot Act, the first episode of The ACLU Freedom Files, a new TV series from producer Robert Greenwald(Unconstitutional, Outfoxed).
Beyond the Patriot Act is 30-minute program designed to reveal how civil liberties affect real people everyday. It features stirring accounts of current cases, as well as well-known actors, activists and comedians. All the necessary resources for a succesful event -publicity tools, invitations, event agendas, Patriot Act talking points- are also available.
If you schedule your event on Thursday September 8, you and your patrons can join in an 8:30 p.m. national conference call with Anthony Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU, to learn the most up-to-date news about this important new lawsuit and the status of Patriot Act legislation. The call will take place after the satellite TV premiere of Beyond the Patriot Act.
To participate in this national happening, and order your DVD contact the ACLU's distribution partner at FreedomFiles@activevoice.net, or call (415) 553-2841.
Help protect the First Amendment and our American tradition of intellectual freedom.
David Dodd
Chair, Intellectual Freedom Committee
California Library Association
Posted by claadmin at 2:00 PM
June 20, 2005
Response to Patriot Act Vote
Submitted by David Dodd, Intellectual Freedom Committee Chair 2004-2005
Speaking on behalf of the CLA Intellectual Freedom Committee, which has long opposed section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, I am happy to see our Congress being willing to stand up to the President and to the FBI and other entities pressing for a trade-off of our civil liberties vs. our safety and security. The fact that Congress voted in favor of curtailing the authority of the FBI to seize library, bookstore, and hotel records by such a large margin, and that so many Republicans were willing to buck the party line to vote their conscience, is a huge victory for Intellectual Freedom. Particularly encouraging was the statement by Robert Ney, Republican from Ohio, who said that he "talked to my libraries, and they felt very strongly about this." We have a voice, and we are being heard.
Posted by claadmin at 2:09 PM
January 4, 2005
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Posted by claadmin at 6:00 PM