Mary Minow, an attorney and former librarian who has taught library law at the San Jose State School of Library Science, has put together a chart on how the USA Patriot Act has changed the way the federal government can request library records. Located on LLRX.com, a Web site launched by two law librarians in 1996 that presents legal issues on libraries and technology, the chart offers a path through the complexities of the law.
Pointing out that the act is not a standalone law but an amendment to more than 15 federal statutes, Minow identifies the types of court orders for library records that are now allowable, the categories of information that can be requested, and the legal standards and authorities invoked, with links to relevant documents and redlined sections of the U.S. Code. Minow told American Libraries that “redlined versions show the text of current law, as amended by the Patriot Act. This is much more valuable than reading the act itself, which shows the amendments out of context.”
Minow said she made the chart “to keep it all straight” for herself and because “librarians need to know the difference between subpoenas and court orders, particularly in states like California where library records may not be given out unless a court order is given.” The chart supplements Minow’s questions and answers on the USA Patriot Act and patron privacy on library Internet terminals posted on the same Web site.
Posted September 23, 2002.