September 24, 2003
The Honorable John Ashcroft
Attorney General of the United States
Department of Justice, Room 4400
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20530-0001
Sent via Fax (202-307-6777) and email (askdoj@usdoj.gov)
Dear Attorney General:
I am writing to inform you that the Special Libraries Association (SLA) objects to comments made by you in your September 15th presentation to the National Restaurant Association.
Although I understand that you have 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. It appears as though some of your comments may have been made in an attempt at levity. Unfortunately, there is nothing light about the PATRIOT Act, or the possible consequences of Section 215, or the notion that librarians are contributing to hysteria and cannot think for themselves.
SLA believes there are good and valid 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. I was pleased to see the press reports that you have expressed concern that people have misunderstood your commitment to civil liberties and committed to declassify the Justice Department report on Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act. SLA looks forward to the declassification of this material.
SLA represents more than 12,000 information professionals in the United States and worldwide -- information resource experts who collect, analyze, evaluate, package, and disseminate information to facilitate accurate decision-making in corporate, academic, and government settings. I hope that you will view these special librarians as informed professionals, and not the enemy.
Thank you for your time. I am available and willing to discuss SLA’s concerns regarding the PATRIOT Act, specifically Section 215.
Sincerely,
Janice R. Lachance
Executive Director
Special Libraries Association
International Headquarters
1700 18th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009, USA
phone: 1 202-234-4700 ext. 635
fax: 1 202-265-9317
email: Janice@sla.org
http://www.sla.org