Re: Escrowing Viewing and Reading Habits with the Governmen

> Date:          Sun, 28 Jan 96 21:05:08
> From:          <alanh@infi.net>
> Subject:       Re: Escrowing Viewing and Reading Habits with the Government
> To:            "roy m. silvernail" <roy@sendai.cybrspc.mn.org>
> Cc:            "timothy c. may" <tcmay@got.net>, cypherpunks@toad.com


> > > The "Library Awareness Program," administered by the Justice Department, is
> > > designed to identify potential criminals before they have a chance to
> > > commit their deeds. The visits to libraries made by the FBI are used to
> > > determine who is reading subversive or dangerous material.
 
> Do you really think the FBI believes that asking librarians to keep 
> records of customer useage is an efficient way to read the customers minds?
> Do you really think that the FBI foreign counter-intelligence squad has 
> nothing better to do than keep a database of who is reading Che Guevara 
> memoirs?

Yes.

Heck, I remember this was a big issue about 15 years ago. Try asking
someone who was active in library science in the late 70's, early 80's.

The general reaction of the library community was, I am glad to say, 
entirely pro-privacy.

Peter Trei
trei@process.com

> Do you really think the FBI believes that asking librarians to keep 
 > records of customer useage is an efficient way to read the customers minds?
 > Do you really think that the FBI foreign counter-intelligence squad has 
 > nothing better to do than keep a database of who is reading Che Guevara 
 > memoirs?
> 
> Yes.
> 
> Heck, I remember this was a big issue about 15 years ago. Try asking
> someone who was active in library science in the late 70's, early 80's.
> 
> The general reaction of the library community was, I am glad to say, 
> entirely pro-privacy.

Ask Sean at dra.com. The s/w industry even designs library systems
so as to purge data the Feebs might want. That that does not exist can
not be surrendered.

And this is not a cost-free choice to them. There is & will be a
percentage of book vandals. If your circulation system could tell you:
	Who checked out X, Y, Z & T?
You might catch the creeps. But they prefer buying new books to the
alternative....





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