Death Threat Woes

[Sue Kamm]

There are also intellectual freedom issues to be considered here.  Does Iowa
have a law requiring library records to be confidential?  This is something
to refer to your library's attorney.  If the Secret Service or FBI DOES seek
information about who might have used your workstation at a given time, they
should be referred to your legal counsel.

Michael Dargan wrote:

> Yesterday morning my ISP informed me that someone using one my library's
> computers used a form on the Whitehouse website to transmit a death
> threat to the President.  It appears that we're likely to soon hear from
> a Secret Service agent who may or may not have some sharp questions for
> us.
>
> Currently we do not authenticate use of our public Internet
> workstations.  A patron who wishes to use a machine is simply assigned a
> machine by a librarian.  If we're busy, the librarian asks for a name
> which is then written on a waiting list.  There's no way for us to tell
> who used a particular machine three weeks ago at 10:35 a.m.
>
> How obligated are libraries to keep records of Internet workstation use?
> Should we be scanning library cards into a spreadsheet and keeping track
> of times and specific PCs?  How long should such records be kept?  Who's
> entitled to see them?
>
> ---
> Michael J. Dargan                               office: 319 291 4496
> Technical Systems Administrator                    fax: 319 291 6736
> Waterloo and Cedar Falls Public Libraries         Waterloo, IA 50701



--
Your friendly CyberGoddess and ALA Councilor,
Sue Kamm
Email:  suekamm at class.org
"The University is not engaged in making ideas safe for students.  It is
engaged in making students safe for ideas."
--Clark Kerr
President, University of California, 1961