Tim Spalding wrote:
> It's off-topic, but where do libraries draw the line. I'm assuming nobody
> would respond to "who's been reading books about Bin Ladin?" But what if the
> police were to find someone bludgeoned to death with a library book? Can
> they find out whose book it is?
That one would be easy, I assume, because the police could easily get a
court order to find out who had the book out. Basically, for the
straight-forward crime, it's not a problem. But unless you DID bludgeon
someone to death with a library book, the issue of how reading matter
directly relates to crime is difficult to assess, and runs up against
the First Amendment. Thinking about a crime isn't a crime; even planning
a crime may not be a crime if you never go through with it. Reading
about things that could be used to commit a crime (like, say, chemistry
;-)) isn't a crime.
Even more difficult are the questions like: a cop runs into the library
shouting "which way did he go?" Can the librarian say that he/she saw a
man in a red shirt run through and out the back door? (Answer is
generally: yes - what the library staff sees is not a record of patron
use.) More difficult yet: Library staff sees someone at a computer
looking at what appears to be child pornography. Can/should staff call
the police? (I don't know the answer to that one, but I'd be sure to
call the library's legal counsel before making a move.)
You might find some good examples on Mary Minow's site:
http://librarylaw.com, and the blog: http://blog.librarylaw.com.
--
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Karen Coyle / Digital Library Consultant
kcoyle@kcoyle.net http://www.kcoyle.net
ph.: 510-540-7596 skype: kcoylenet
fx.: 510-848-3913
mo.: 510-435-8234
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Received on Mon Jan 28 2008 - 14:57:05 EST