Courts Should Decide Relevancy of Library Info

Here’s an op-ed piece about the recent case involving a library patron who was seen fondling himself while looking at porn on the Internet. After complaints frmo patrons, the library staff contacted authorities. By the time they arrived, the man had disappeared. The police wanted immediate access to the information necessary to identify the patron. The library staff refused to hand it over, prompting the police to obtain a court order. The Illinois Attorney General may be forced to review whether a 1983 library confidentiality law impedes quick access to library information in a criminal case. Read More.

June 28, 2004 by Internet Legal Issues Librarians Libraries

You may also like...

4 Responses

  1. Eli says:
    June 28, 2004 at 8:41 pm

    What a Shame
    Isn’t it a shame that this case has gone so far. If the librarians used a little common sense it would probably avoided examining the Library Confidentiality law in Illinois. These laws are made to protect the privacy of decent citizens doing research. I don’t understand how such a protection expands to a person exhibiting criminal behavior and creating a public scene. Why does the criminal get so much consdieration? The librarians should have used some common sense. The man exhibited vile behavior in a public place, patrons complained, the police were doing their job, what is the problem. The only people that will suffer are honest researchers. One would hope that professional discretion would take into account other users.

  2. djsarge says:
    June 28, 2004 at 10:15 pm

    Re:What a Shame
    Eli

    I am pretty sure that the law does not say “decent citzens”.

    Anyway, the court order granted the police the information they needed to catch the perp, end of story.

  3. Snave says:
    June 28, 2004 at 10:42 pm

    Re:What a Shame
    The librarians showed common sense by obeying the law. Many states have confidentiality laws that protect patron records from casual perusal by law enforcement or any others, but open those records with a court order. You may disagree with how the law is written, but until it is rewritten, staff members have to follow it. Unless you are advocating that the library staff themselves become lawbreakers?

  4. leeb says:
    June 29, 2004 at 7:17 am

    What a shame, indeed!
    Yes, it happened again! The law was again protecting a crook! A person behaving like that in public is forfeiting any rights they have!

LISNews Archives