ORLANDO - The American Library Association plans to survey its membership of some 64,000 libraries to determine how many times federal agents have used a section of the USA Patriot Act that allows them to secretly obtain the records of patrons.
The association hopes to use the information to support an effort to change parts of the controversial law or make sure objectionable sections aren't renewed when a sunset provision kicks in at the end of next year, said Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the American Library Association's Washington office.
"The Patriot Act, for the first time, jeopardizes library patrons' privacy in a way that has never been done before," Sheketoff said Friday at the start of group's annual conference in Orlando. Federal investigators think some of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers used library computers to communicate with each other over the Internet.
"I would be happy for them to do it," Mark Corallo, a spokesman for the Department of Justice, said of the survey. "The idea that agents are running around libraries is absurd."
The library group would like to see changes in Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which lets the FBI order any person to turn over records during an investigation of international terrorism or clandestine terrorism activities. The agency does not have to show probable cause.
The library group has endorsed proposed legislation that would require the FBI to name the person whose records are being sought and show it has reason to think that person may be a terrorist or spy. It also supports exempting libraries from some provisions of the Patriot Act..
