Libraries and the U.S. Patriot Act
by Emily Chasse

Libraries across the nation are concerned about the effect of the Patriot Act on the confidentiality of patron library records.  This Act, passed by Congress quickly after the 9/11 attacks, has the potential to impact the civil liberties of library users across the nation.

Reference librarian Emily Chasse attended a forum in West Hartford moderated by Ralph Arcari, director of the University of Connecticut Medical Center Library, concerning the Patriot Act and its affect on libraries. Arcari stated that Sections 215 and 508 grant the FBI and other law enforcement and intelligence agencies broad access to library records and bookstore purchases with only the most minimal judicial oversight and standards.  Further, the law provides that the bookstore or library is forbidden to disclose that the inspection happened.

In order to counteract this invasion of privacy, Congressman Bernard Sanders of Vermont introduced HR-1157: the "Freedom to Read Protection Act of 2003". The bill has the support of 122 co-sponsors, including Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) as well as the American Library Association and American Booksellers Association. HR-1157 would reinstate legal standards that were in place for libraries and bookstores before the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act and increase Congressional oversight over the use of Section 215 of the Act. Other bills in the Senate and House are also attempting to limit Patriot Act provisions for libraries and bookstores.

In a bold and proactive attempt to preserve the privacy of their patrons, some libraries have chosen not to retain a record of circulation transactions and computer sign-up sheets so they don’t have documentation to give the government if asked. In a survey sent to 1,500 libraries by the Library Research Center at the University of Illinois, the staffs at 219 libraries stated they had cooperated with law enforcement requests for information about patrons; staffs at 225 libraries said they had not.

To date, Burritt Library director Jeanne Sohn states that no requests for patron records have been made.

New Databases, In Spite of “hard times…”
by Joan Packer

The library has a new homepage this year and several new databases.  An important link on the new page is for TDNet, an electronic journals management system.  Researchers can enter the name of a journal and find out if it is available electronically in any of CCSU’s over 130 databases. Clicking on the links that appear for a given title will take the user to a volume list of back issues for that journal or other periodical. Newspapers are included.  Clicking on a volume link (such as v. 21 2002) will display the issues and tables of contents.  In addition to the back issue archives, TDNet will tell you if CCSU holds the title in print format.  Users can also search by keyword, subject, publisher or International Standard Serials Number (ISSN).

Another important acquisition this year is the backfiles for BIOSIS Previews (1969-2002), which includes Biological Abstracts.  This indispensable tool for researchers in the life sciences indexes over 5,500 journals.  The backfiles supplement our ongoing BIOSIS subscription, which continues access from 2002 to the current year.

In another discipline, the Library has recently purchased the Cambridge Scientific Abstracts version of Criminal Justice Abstracts. We believe this will offer a better interface for researchers in this field, as well as links to full-text journal articles.  The full-text article access will be enhanced by our purchase of the SAGE Criminal Justice Full-Text Journal Collection, which includes 18 titles, some going back 20 years.

Cambridge Scientific Abstracts is also the new provider for Communication Abstracts. Again, this new interface will provide online access to full-text journal articles for some titles. 

In addition, since last summer the library has offered PsycArticles, 42 full-text journals from the American Psychological Association, and the Professional Development Collection, which is designed for educators and provides a full-text journal collection for 500 titles. 

The library continues to add subject and multidisciplinary collections to JSTOR, the very popular archive for full-text journals. JSTOR begins with volume 1 in the journals it selects, which come from many disciplines, but has rolling access to the last 3 or 4 years. In other words, often you cannot access the full-text for the last 3 or 4 years. This was a concession to reluctant publishers.  Hopefully, TDNet will help you locate those missing years in another library database.

Regrettably, some of these new electronic full-text databases have been paid for with the cancellation of print titles to which we have electronic access.  In addition, other sometimes very expensive titles, have had to be cancelled because of the limited budgets of the last few years.