Police first asked for information May 11, the day after a 12-year-old girl said she was sexually threatened by a man outside the library building. The girl had told police that the man was carrying a library book, according to the June 22 Bergen Record; officers asked Reutty to tell them who checked out the book title mentioned by the girl, but Reutty refused to do so without the subpoena. When police presented the subpoena, Reutty searched for the title but could not find it in the library’s holdings.
Police then asked for the records of everyone who checked out or renewed books in the past 10 days, but Reutty refused without another subpoena, since those records are computerized and kept off-site. After receiving the second subpoena the next day, Reutty complied; the information she provided helped identify the suspect.
“I followed the law,” Reutty said in the Record. “And because I followed the law, at the end of the day, the policemen’s case is going to hold strong. Nobody is going to sue the library and nobody is going to sue the municipality of Hasbrouck Heights because information was given out illegally.” New Jersey state law prevents libraries from disclosing personally identifying details about users without a subpoena issued by a court or a court order.
“At no time did I say that I would not give them the information,” Reutty told American Libraries.
Hasbrouck Heights officials, however, claim that Reutty intentionally blocked the investigation. Attorney Ellen Horn, who represented library trustees at a joint borough and board meeting June 20, charged that Reutty’s actions were “an absolute misjudgment of the seriousness of the matter.” Local officials also claimed that Reutty violated procedure by seeking legal counsel from the New Jersey Library Association when she received the subpoena rather than the borough’s attorney.
Twenty librarians from around the state attended the meeting to show support for Reutty, including NJLA Executive Director Patricia Tumulty, who said that in light of the incident, the association would review its guidelines regarding subpoenas to ensure they conform to state law.
Posted June 23, 2006.