[WEB4LIB] Disturbing News

[Adriana Edward-Johnson]

  I'm glad everyone is taking an interest in this...however, the federal
government has the authority to ask that materials be removed from federal
depository libraries during times of peace and war...and has exercised this
authority since government information began being distributed to the
public...I do not necessarily agree with this but it has been a fact for a
long time.
  And as far as that cd-rom which was "destroyed" goes--a message posted to
Govdoc-L on Sept. 26 (in part) stated:
---------------------------------------
"Source area characteristics of large public surface water supplies
I 19.76:99-248
USGS Open-File Report no. 99-248

The request was made on behalf of USGS's Associate Director for Water. There
was not explanation as to why we are being asked to destroy this CD, which,
in my limited experience as a depository librarian was unusual. A phone call
to Cindy Etkin at LPS confirmed that it was unusual, but that when an agency
formally requests, in writing, that a document be pulled from depository
libraries, the agency is not required to explain why. USGS had not done so,
although given the content of the CD, I suppose it's not surprising that
they asked us to destroy it...
A call to the office of the Associate Director for Water put me in touch
with Glen Patterson. He was sympathetic to a librarian's hesitancy to
destroy information that, at a future time, may prove useful for "peaceful
purposes" (my phrase, not his). He agreed that that an alternative,
appropriate response would be to remove the CD from our shelves and suppress
our cataloging record until such time as it may be OK to put the CD back on
the shelf. Furthermore, he agreed that I could share this information with
the depository community."
---------------------------------------------------------
I hope this helps you feel a letter better to know that Federal Depository
Librarians are watching out for the public...items distributed in paper,
cd-rom, or microform will always be in existence somewhere because people
photocopy them before being destroyed (woo hoo no copyright!) or swipe them
from the trash...it is the government information distributed on the
Internet we need to try to preserve before it all vanishes.  See
http://www.eff.org/Privacy/Surveillance/Terrorism_militias/antiterrorism_chi
ll.html

--
Adriana Edwards-Johnson
Government Publications Librarian
University of Central Oklahoma
Edmond, OK 73034
405-974-2904
aedwards at ucok.edu
http://library.ucok.edu/gov/



-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib at webjunction.org
[mailto:web4lib at webjunction.org]On Behalf Of Daniel Messer
Sent: Monday, November 19, 2001 11:08 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [WEB4LIB] Disturbing News


Hey all...

    I found an article on Slashdot (www.slashdot.org) which points to an
LA Times article detailing a disturbing trend since the 9/11 attacks.
Libraries are being ordered by the Federal Government to destroy
information held in federal repositories in the interests of "homeland
security." From the article:

"Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft said that, while 'a well informed citizenry'
is essential to government accountability, national security should be a
priority."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-111801inform.story

    Folks, in my opinion, what that says is that the government is going
to carry out acts in the name of "national security" and using that
guise, may be held unaccountable for their actions. If the trend is now
to order the destruction of freely obtainable information, then the
terrorists have won. We have thus given up the FOIA and indeed our
Constitutional rights.

Dan

--
Mondai wa
The subject in question...
-------
Daniel Messer, Technology Instructor
Yakima Valley Regional Library
102 N 3rd St Yakima, WA 98901
(509) 452-8541 x712
dmesser at yvrls.lib.wa.us
-------
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.
                     -Hunter S. Thompson