CT Librarians Gagged by Patriot Act Finally Speak Out

Norman Oder, Laura B. Weiss -- School Library Journal, 5/31/2006

Four Connecticut librarians who were gagged by the FBI for nearly 10 months spoke publicly for the first time on May 30 about their long battle against the Patriot Act.

The four librarians, who are part of the Connecticut consortium called Library Connection, sought help from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) after the FBI demanded patron records through a National Security Letter, a controversial Patriot Act tool that allows the government to demand, without court approval, records of people who aren't suspected of any wrongdoing. Anyone who receives an NSL is forbidden from disclosing that they were the recipient of such a request.

George Christian, executive director of Library Connection, said, "I am relieved that a federal court has at long last lifted a Patriot Act gag order and allowed me to acknowledge that I am the recipient of a National Security Letter (NSL) on behalf of my organization, Library Connection."

Due to mistakes by government lawyers, the name of the consortium was released in court papers in November, but the four librarians were still banned from speaking out. The New York Times was the first to reveal the identity of "John Doe" in September 2005, but the government waited until April, more than six weeks after the Patriot Act was reauthorized by Congress, to drop its legal battle to keep the gag order intact.

Peter Chase, director of the Plainville Public Library and vice president of Library Connection, described the frustration he felt under the gag order. "It was galling for me to see the government's attorney in Connecticut, Kevin O'Connor, travel around the state telling people that their library records were safe, while at the same time he was enforcing a gag order preventing me from telling people that their library records were not safe."

John Doe won the 2005 Downs Intellectual Freedom Award, presented at the American Library Association's midwinter meeting in San Antonio, TX, but no one from Library Connection could be present to accept the award.

The Patriot Act was passed shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and gives law enforcement officials more authority to go after suspected terrorists.