The Bookseller.com

1st December 2008

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Police surveillance pinned down

22.05.08 Benedicte Page

The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals is to investigate the extent of police surveillance requests to libraries. The library body will then produce a guidance policy for librarians on how to handle the issue.

Senior policy advisor Barbara Stratton said that CILIP had been hearing -anecdotal accounts of individuals approached by police for details of library users' borrowing records and internet usage, but now intended to establish firm evidence through a survey. "We need to find out just what has been happening," she said. "We will be approaching libraries in -confidence because many are concerned not to cause upset among their readers."

University libraries will be among those surveyed, and school libraries may also be included. "We have to ask all of them and see what we get," Stratton said. CILIP also intends to consult the American Library Association (ALA) to learn from its experience with the 2003 Patriot Act.

Findings from the survey will be considered by CILIP's ethical panel, and legal advice will be taken, before the organisation offers its policy statement in a few months' time.

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