Refuge of a Scoundrel : The Patriot Act in Libraries

From Booklist
When Attorney General John Ashcroft accused some librarians of "baseless hysteria" in their opposition to the USA Patriot Act, the controversy surrounding this legislation--enacted by Congress following the 9/11 attacks--expanded further. Foerstel, a librarian and author of several works on the First Amendment, has written a passionate attack on the law and describes its negative impact on library users, librarians, and libraries throughout the country. A diligent researcher, he combed the print literature and the Web and even conducted personal interviews with some government officials and librarians to buttress his case against this legislation. Needless to say, a book entitled Refuge of a Scoundrel does not purport to offer a balanced perspective, and one can't fault an author for not writing the book some readers may want. The worst terrorist attack in American history has placed in stark relief the debate about maintaining national security while preserving our civil rights and liberties. Foerstel has done an admirable job in advocating the latter. In the future, one hopes that a similarly capable author can explain the justification for these stringent legislative measures affecting libraries. Donald Altschiller
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
This is the most important book this reviewer has read this year--and the most frightening. It succintly details the latest effort by the U.S. government to undermine the rights of Americans to free expression and privacy, with a particular focus on libraries and librarians....Foerstel's impressive documentation proves that despite the book's brevity, it covers the subject fully and deeply. Highly recommended.Library Journal

Book Description
The USA Patriot Act may be the most complex and controversial federal statute in American history, argued to undercut American civil liberties in countless ways, including a dramatic extension of domestic surveillance. Providing a broad picture of how the new surveillance powers affect all Americans--citizens and non-citizens alike--the lessons of this book will be relevant to any businesses that maintain personnel records and electronic data that were considered confidential before the Patriot Act, as well as a broad range of individuals, including librarians, bookstore owners, students, scholars, journalists, businessmen, and anyone concerned with American civil liberties.


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This is the most important book this reviewer has read this year-and the most frightening. It succinctly details the latest effort by the U.S. government to undermine the rights of Americans to free expression and privacy, with a particular focus on libraries and librarians. An activist in resisting the FBI's snoopers when he was head of branch libraries at the University of Maryland, Foerstel is widely published on First Amendment issues and serves on boards of both the National Security Archive and the Freedom To Read Foundation. He opens with a long first chapter on the history of modern government surveillance of libraries, basically a summary of his Surveillance in the Stacks: The FBI's Library Awareness Program. Forestel then recounts the history of the USA PATRIOT Act and discusses the implications for libraries and bookstores. In Chapter 5, "Fighting Back," he summarizes current efforts to resist or change the Patriot Act's provisions and concludes with an indictment of Attorney General Ashcroft's claim that the FBI did not use the Patriot Act to gain access to library records. Foerstel's impressive documentation (appendixes include the University of Illinois GSLIS's survey of public library surveillance, plus samples of standard court orders that may be served to libraries and bookstores) proves that despite the book's brevity, it covers the subject fully and deeply. Highly recommended.-John Berry, Library Journal Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.


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