Death Threat Woes

[Dan Kissane]

I would treat this the same as if the threat was made from a payphone in
the library. If you don't keep track of the users then you don't have any
information to turn over.


Dan Kissane
Systems Librarian
SUNY College at Oneonta
Oneonta, NY 13820
dfk at on



On Sat, 25 Oct 1997, 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
> 
>