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Patriot Act: Know where you stand
Attorney General John D. Ashcroft recently visited Buffalo as part of his national speaking tour to defend the USA Patriot Act, an anti-terrorism program enacted after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. While he addressed only law enforcement officials and reporters, a crowd emerged in both protest and support of the act. Are you unsure about where you stand in relation to this act? You can become well informed about this program and how it affects you by doing a little bit of research on the World Wide Web.
There are many summaries, full-text versions and analyses of the Patriot Act, whose official title is Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT) Act of 2001. Use the Web sites for the U.S. Department of Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network http://www.fincen.gov/pa_main.html or THOMAS at the Library of Congress http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.html to view this law in its entirety. The Congressional Research Service also offers a 78-page legal summary and analysis of the act http://fpc.state.gov/c5115.htm.
For different opinions about the consequences of the act, visit The Center for Democracy and Technology http://www.cdt.org/security/010911response.shtml, which provides analysis and criticism of the Patriot Act I and & II, including comments about how the act could possibly erode the system of checks and balances. Compare these sentiments to those expressed by Ashcroft from the Department of Justice site http://www.usdoj.gov/.
One section of the Patriot Act that may affect you directly is the expansion of police monitoring and investigation of libraries and booksellers. The American Library Association (ALA) http://www.ala.org provides details about this provision, including a Q&A on the confidentiality and privacy of library records. The section "FBI in Your Library" examines the effects of the act and executive orders on patron privacy and administration in American libraries. It also includes information regarding the Library Bill of Rights and the FBI Library Awareness Program of the 1980s. A site sponsored by Carleton College entitled "Of Patrons and Patriots: The USA Patriot Act and American Libraries" http://www.carleton.edu/campus/library/admin/exhibits/patriotact.html includes FAQs on the act, as well as a chart that compares the laws affecting library records before and after the act.
Those interested in what newspapers around the county are reporting about the act can go to Google News http://news.google.com. Search for "Patriot Act" or "Patriot Act II" to retrieve numerous stories, editorials and comments from legislators, activists and the general public.
Whether you favor or oppose the law, the World Wide Web provides a wealth of information to help you become an informed citizen.
—Laura Taddeo and Cindi Tysick, University Libraries