From: Eric Blossom <eb@comsec.com>
Date: Tue, 30 Jan 1996 16:27:17 +0800
To: alanh@infi.net
Subject: Re: Escrowing Viewing and Reading Habits with the Government
In-Reply-To: <Pine.SV4.3.91.960128201108.12961A-100000@larry.infi.net>
Message-ID: <199601300740.XAA16850@comsec.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


> 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?

My understanding of the Library Awareness Program, was that is was
originally targeted at "suspicious users" (e.g., people with funny
names, or that looked kind of foreign, or spoke with an accent -- say
somebody like Henry Kissinger) that were using technical libraries.
After all, they might find something there that they could use against
the US of A.  

Certain librarians or assitants were approached to see if they would
be snitches.  Often times this took place without the head librarians
even being notified of the program.  There is a book about this written
by a librarian.  It has "Library Awareness Program" somewhere in its title.

Eric