The action was prompted by a May 18 incident at the Naperville Public Library in which three teenagers reported seeing a man fondling himself while allegedly viewing pornography at a library computer. The confidentiality act required police to obtain a court-ordered search warrant before library officials would reveal the name of the suspect, who was subsequently arrested.
The proposal, drafted by Naperville Legal Director Margo Ely and police Captain Ray McGury, reads, “Nothing contained in this act shall be construed as a privacy violation or a breach of confidentiality when a library cooperates with and provides information to sworn law enforcement officers in the process of a criminal investigation.
“Furthermore, nothing contained in this act shall be construed as permitting a library to refuse to cooperate with and provide information to sworn law enforcement officers in the process of a criminal investigation.
“Such cooperation and information shall include, but not be limited to, releasing registration records and identifying information of patrons, as well as access to computer and surveillance information.”
Naperville resident and former librarian Jane Burke told the council that while the incident was unfortunate, she opposed altering the law. “The proposed changes could not have prevented the incident, and in fact the . . . current act as it is stated allowed for the court order to be gotten and the information to be obtained and subsequently for an arrest to be made,” she said.
NPL Director Donna Dziedzic told American Libraries that while the city didn’t consult with the library in drafting the resolution, library officials knew it was in the works. She added that the Illinois Library Association was also aware of the council’s action, and that library confidentiality was on the group’s legislative agenda for the year. If legislation does result from the proposal, Dziedzic said she was “hopeful language can be developed that’s satisfactory to both the library community and the law-enforcement community.”
Posted November 5, 2004.