Hi. I spent my second to last day on the job getting bitched out over the phone by an older woman who was upset that I asked if she had a library card before I filled out an ILL form for her. She was mad that we didn’t have the book, mad that it would take a while to get it in, and mad that we wouldn’t call her to tell her when it was coming before it arrived. I got a lecture on public service which was both humbling and infuriating. Next week I’ll be speaking at Marlboro College in Vermont and then at the New Jersey Library Association conference. I’m putting together a teeny Spring Tour page with my other speaking dates on it. Please stop by and say hello if you’re in the area.
summaries of USAPA hearings
beSpacific links to four articles written about yesterday’s hearings and notes their conflicintg headlines and conclusions.
edible book, yum!
I encourage all librarians to try to get involved in their local Edible Books Festival, coming up soon at the tail end of National Library Week.
open source stuff you may already be using
Open Source software can save your library money. Two great posts, one by Meredith at Information wants to be Free, and one by Karen at Library Web Chic — two smart women using open source blogging software — about what open source software they use. Links galore!
USAPA Hearings, Day One
I was scanning some of the testimony from today’s hearings about renewing the USAPA. If you just want the updates, please read Declan over at News.com. If you’d like to really see what people had to say about it, perhaps your representative, you can read the testimony here. I’ll quote a bit from what my Senator had to say.
For example, many of us have expressed concerns with the business records subpoena power in section 215, and its implications for libraries and booksellers. I have cosponsored legislation, introduced by Senator Feingold, that addresses this provision.
Before we rush to renew any controversial powers created by the PATRIOT Act, we need to understand how these powers have been used, and whether they have been effective. A few weeks ago, we celebrated the first National Sunshine Week with a hearing on open government and bipartisan calls for responsiveness and accountability. We should carry that theme into this process of oversight and legislating.
And you can also read Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez repeating nearly word for word what Ashcroft had to say about Section 215.
Even though libraries and bookstores are not specifically mentioned in the provision, section 215 does prohibit the government from using this authority to conduct investigations “of a United States person solely on the basis of activities protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.†In other words, the library habits of ordinary Americans are of no interest to those conducting terrorism investigations, nor are they permitted to be.