New York Times Exposes FBI Library Awareness Program
A front-page article in The New York Times on this day exposed an FBI program of snooping on people’s use of public libraries.
The secret program was known as the Library Awareness Program, and designed as a counterintelligence effort. The Times story highlighted a visit to a Columbia University library in June, during which an FBI agent asked librarians to be “alert” to library patrons who were “hostile to the United States” and to provide information to the Bureau about such activities. The Columbia University librarian notified the American Library Association (ALA), which in turn brought the issue to the Times.
The FBI’s library program intensified after 9/11, and on January 23, 2003, the ALA adopted a formal policy advising librarians across the country on how to respond to FBI requests and also to inform their patrons.
The American Library Association (ALA) on June 19, 1939 adopted the Library Bill of Rights. It was inspired by the Library Bill of Rights adopted by the Des Moines, Iowa, Public Library on November 21, 1938. Both actions were taken in response to the Nazi repression in Germany which included removing books by Jewish authors, other books deemed offensive by the Nazi regime, and barring Jews from using public libraries.
Article I of the current American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights declares that:
“Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.”
Learn more: Herbert Foerstel, Refuge of a Scoundrel: The Patriot Act in Libraries (2004)
Learn more from the ALA about the Library Awareness Program: http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=ifissues&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=21662
Read the full Library Bill of Rights at the ALA web site here