From: "Peter Trei" <trei@process.com>
Date: Tue, 30 Jan 1996 03:52:38 +0800
To: <roy@sendai.cybrspc.mn.org
Subject: Re: Escrowing Viewing and Reading Habits with the Governmen
Message-ID: <9601291905.AA20307@toad.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


> 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