Missing Girl Sparks Privacy Fight at VT Library

By Jennifer Pinkowski -- School Library Journal, 8/4/2008

The search for a missing child who was later found murdered recently embroiled a Vermont public library in a privacy showdown between police and staff. 

According to an Associated Press story, 12-year-old Randolph, VT, resident Brooke Bennett went missing on June 25. Following a tip that she may have used a computer at the town’s Kimball Public Library (KPL) to arrange a clandestine meeting with someone she met on MySpace—possibly an online predator—state police arrived at the library looking to seize the public terminals. 

But they didn’t have a warrant, so children’s librarian Judith Flint refused the request. Seven hours later the police returned with a warrant, and library director Amy Grasmick turned over the computers.

A week later, Bennett’s body was found a mile from the home of her uncle, Michael Jacques, a registered sex offender. Both Jacques and Bennett’s former step-father, Raymond Gagnon, have been arrested for charges related to Brooke’s death. Authorities have not disclosed whether any information relating to the girl’s disappearance was found on the library computers.

In a letter posted on the Vermont Library Association’s Web site, Grasmick defended Flint’s actions. “When I arrived at the library, I affirmed that yes, we did want to help the police find Brooke, and that yes, we would comply with their request to confiscate our computers—when and only when they presented us with a court order,” she wrote. “My library’s policy was very clear: we do not turn over information about our patrons to anyone without a court order.”

Online reactions to the library's standoff have been largely negative, with most commentators howling for Flint's head. A few examples are from a Wall Street Journal blogger, who wrote a negative opinion, and the Brattenbourg Reformer, which published a positive editorial. Its readers vocally disagreed.