The gag reflex 

Most Far-Reaching Gag Order In 1st Amend. History? by Nat Hentoff

John Ashcroft's war on terrorism includes the most far-reaching gag order in First Amendment history -- preventing the press from reporting on the FBI's seizure of the lists of books bought or borrowed in bookstores and libraries by noncitizens and citizens suspected of terrorist activities. Under the omnibus USA Patriot Act, the FBI has the authority to get an order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court -- a secret body composed of rotating federal judges -- to seek "any tangible things (including books, records, papers, documents, and other items) for an investigation to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities."

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) and the American Library Association (ALA) have particularly alerted their members to part of the law that prevents booksellers and librarians -- once the FBI has come calling -- to reveal that a search has been made. The law states: "No person shall disclose to any other person ... that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has sought or obtained" these records.

This means that the press and, therefore, the public cannot find out how often and where these searches have taken pace -- and what books, as well as readers, are under suspicion. Customarily, when a court imposes a gag rule on pretrial or trial participants, including the press, it is fought in open court by the press and often overturned.

Now, however, this chilling incursion on the First Amendment right to read remains as hidden as some of the security operations of the People's Republic of China. [read more]

Future Bibliography 

Libraries of the Future Bibliography by Carol R. Gurstelle

"Are we there yet?" Like restless children in the back seat of the car, librarians and information professionals keep searching for the "library of the future." There's no agreement what such an institution is. Is it an actual place or a virtual site? Is it just the latest technology? What's the human component? Each new building brings a newspaper headline announcing that the library of the future is now part of the community. A quick search for the phrase on popular search engines yields tens of thousands of hits, but the irony is that those headlines, books and articles become part of the past the instant they are printed.

These are the challenges in compiling a list of resources to help in learning about and planning for the library of the future. It's not that existing materials have no value. We need the foundations and the history, but we also need to create a dynamic resource that changes as new ideas and new technologies emerge. For that reason, we have included the Web sites of core publications and professional organizations, allowing you to connect to their most current information. We encourage you to add your contributions and make this resource as dynamic and evolutionary as institutions we seek to create. [read more]

Copy Protection 

Another Punch for Copy Protection

A political brawl over mandatory copy protection is about to spread to the U.S. House of Representatives.

A Democratic legislator from the home of the Walt Disney and Warner Bros. studios is drafting a bill to reduce online piracy by implanting strict copy controls in digital devices.

On Wednesday, Rep. Adam Schiff of Burbank, California, circulated a letter on Capitol Hill seeking co-sponsors for his legislation, which he said would follow the same approach as the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act (CBDTPA) in the Senate.

"I plan to introduce legislation that would safeguard digital content by spurring the rapid development of copyright protection technology," Schiff's "Dear Colleague" letter said. "Similar legislation, S. 2048, has been introduced in the Senate.” I believe this is a necessary step and I encourage you to join me in this effort.

By introducing this measure in the House, Schiff hopes to accelerate the passage of digital rights management legislation: The House can move forward on it without waiting for the Senate to act first. [read more]

CIPA opinion 

Why the Feds CAN'T protect kids from Internet porn by David Coursey

The ongoing battle over the Children's Internet Protection Act isn't about right vs. wrong as much as it's about deciding which side is more right. It's one of those cases that makes you glad you're not a judge.

Signed into law two years ago, CIPA requires schools and libraries that receive federal funding to install technology (usually software) that would prevent children from accessing objectionable content--porn, bomb recipes, hate speech, and the like. Libraries that choose not to implement such filters would lose their federal dollars. [read more]