« Graphic Novels- Not in the closet anymore! | Main | Garden State Book Awards Luncheon »

April 25, 2007

Tuesday Keynote: Meet Two of the Jane Does from Doe vs. Gonzales

On Tuesday morning New Jersey librarians got to hear the inside scoop on the story of the librarians who challenged the U.S. Patriot Act. Barbara Bailey and Janet Nocek, librarians from Library Connection, a 27-library consortium in the Hartford, Ct. area, shared the story of their experience when their organization was served a National Security Letter by the FBI. They and two other librarians from Library Connection, Peter Chase and George Christian, had their lives turned upside down.

It all started with a call from the FBI, telling them that they were going to be receiving a National Security Letter, and asking who it should be addressed to. A couple of weeks later, the letter was delivered in person to Library Connection's Executive Director, George Christian. The letter, dated in May and delivered in late June, asked for the name of the person using a computer with a specific IP address in a 45-minute time period in February, when someone had sent a questionable e-mail. In addition, there was a gag order attached to the letter. They were not allowed to speak of the letter - in perpetuity. It was also not made clear whether a lawyer could be consulted.

The four librarians knew that they could not fulfill the request, as IP addresses are generated randomly and the records not kept. They would have had to give the names of all users in one library. Since the letter referred to a date four months before, it seemed highly unlikely that there was any immediate danger. They felt that it was a fishing expedition, and that it violated their patrons' rights. After discussion, they decided to go to a lawyer. The Connecticut attorney they consulted sent them to the ACLU.

Their first hearing was held in district court in September. This was shortly after John Ashcroft talked about "hysterical librarians" with their silly concerns about the USA PATRIOT Act being used in libraries. Because of the gag order, they were not allowed to point out that the librarians were far from hysterical. The Library Connection librarians were not allowed to be in the courtroom, and had to watch through closed-circuit TV in a locked room with a security guard. The judge ruled that the letter was unconstitutional, but gave the FBI the right to appeal, which they did at the last possible moment.

The case was merged with another case of a New York Internet provider, and was held in New York City. The librarians were allowed to attend this trial, but were told to arrive separately and make no eye contact. The judges were concerned to hear that there was no reference to consulting counsel, and requested that the information that a lawyer could be consulted be added to the letter. This has happened, thanks, at least partially to Library Connection's actions.

Eventually the FBI withdrew its appeal to keep their identities hidden after Federal District Court Judge Janet C. Hall declared the perpetual gag order unconstitutional. The Patriot Act was renewed at this time; the library records issue was not resolved. Although state law states that patron records must be kept private, federal law trumps state law, and makes the state law ineffective.

The time of the trial was very tough for all the librarians. They were not allowed to discuss the case with family, friends or coworkers. George Christian's name was leaked to the press, and his teenager answered the phone one day to have a reporter ask to speak to his Dad about his FBI trial. When "John Doe" won the Connecticut Library Association's Librarian of the Year Award, but they were unable to accept (last week they were finally able to receive the award).

When their identities were revealed, they were afraid of the feedback they would receive. To their surprise, the comments were almost entirely positive. They received phone calls, hugs, flowers and more. Janet Nocek received one e-mail, calling her a "trader" to the United States, but that was the only negative comment.

Nocek and Bailey advised the audience to make sure they have policies in place for when the law comes knocking, and to review them regularly. The ALA website has good information on this in the Intellectual Freedom section. More information on the Patriot Act from the ALA website.

When Joan Bernstein introduced Bailey and Nocek at the beginning of the speech, she called them "heroes in America's war on terror." By the comments and applause at the end of their presentation, it was obvious that the entire audience agreed.

Posted by mowyn at April 25, 2007 8:02 PM

Comments

Post a comment