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The Special Libraries Association objects to comments made by Attorney General John Ashcroft in recent remarks to the National Restaurant Association. (http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/speeches/2003/091503nationalrestaurant.htm).

Although the Attorney General has been giving presentations in support of the PATRIOT Act and what is being dubbed the PATRIOT Act II with expanded powers, it was wrong to state that "breathless reports and baseless hysteria" convinced librarians - a highly educated group of individuals, who are professionally trained to collect and analyze information - were misled. SLA believes there are good reasons to be concerned about the far-reaching powers of the PATRIOT Act, specifically Section 215, which permits federal agents to obtain library records in connection with terrorism investigations, bypassing the higher standard of "probable cause" under the Fourth Amendment. SLA strongly supports the protection of privacy and patron confidentiality.

There are currently several Bills that restore the traditional rights of libraries and their patrons with regard to Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act. SLA encourages members to contact their Congressional representative and United States Senators in support of the following Bills:

HR 1157 Freedom to Read Protection Act (Sanders)
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2003_cr/hr1157.html

S. 1158 Library & Bookseller Protection Act (Boxer, identical to
Sanders bill)
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2003_cr/s1158.html

S. 1507 Library, Bookseller, and Personal Records Privacy Act
(Feingold, requires FBI to get orders from the FISA Court under
standards that applied pre-Patriot)
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_cong_bills&docid=f:s1507is.pdf

S. 1552 Protecting the Rights of Individuals Act (Murkowsk and
Wydern, same as Feingold with specific exemption for library and some
other records)
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2003_cr/s1552.html

S. 436 Domestic Surveillance Oversight Act (Grassley, Specter and
Leahy, requires annual PUBLIC report from DOJ on number of individuals
targeted for FISA orders)
http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2003_cr/s436.html