 On May 30, 2002, U.S. Attorney General
John Ashcroft and the U.S. Department of Justice issued
revised guidelines for the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI). As widely reported in the national press, the new
guidelines permit FBI agents to monitor public gatherings
and conduct surveillance in churches, mosques, and libraries
without any evidence that a crime has been committed. The
issuance of these new guidelines follows the passage of the
U.S.A. Patriot Act, a new law that broadly expands the FBI's
ability to access library records.
In a survey of 1,020 public libraries conducted by the
University of Illinois' Library Research Center in January
and February 2002, 85 libraries reported they had been asked
by federal or local law enforcement agents for patron
information related to the terrorist attacks on September 11.
In light of these new laws and increased visits to libraries by
law enforcement agents, it is important to remember that the
underlying Illinois law governing the confidentiality of library
users' records has not changed. That law requires any law
enforcement agent to present a valid court order showing
cause and is in good form before any patron information is
disclosed or library records released. This applies to FBI
agents, state law enforcement officials, and local police and
sheriffs' departments, and includes investigations conducted
under the U.S.A. Patriot Act.
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