WebJunction

Description:

Threatening emails have been sent, and the authorities have traced them back to public computers at your library. The police are now standing in your office, asking to see records of who has used the computers so they can obtain evidence against a potentially dangerous criminal.

The FBI is demanding that you turn over circulation records so they can see which books suspected terrorists have been reading. Citing the USA Patriot Act of 2001, they insist that the records must be shown to them.

Would your library know how to handle these situations?

Librarians have historically fought to protect the privacy of library users. Now, a precarious balance and sometimes ambiguous relationship exists between privacy rights and laws relating to public information.

Library Privacy and Confidentiality: Law and Policy addresses some of these sticky situations and will help you prepare for the eventuality that you may face some day when you have to decide between individual privacy and law enforecement.

Course Objectives

After completing this course, you should know:

• when and if you are required to release library user information
• how to respond to inquiries from law enforcement agents
• how to respond to inquiries from the press
• the implications the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has on privacy
• the effects of the recent USA PATRIOT Act on privacy rights of library users

LE@D COURSE NOTE: After enrolling, launch the course from your My Courses page and follow the instructions to request a special University of North Texas login unique to your enrollment. After completing the course at UNT, return to your My Courses page, launch again, and follow the instructions to record completion at WebJunction.