Two weeks ago, my town’s library denied the FBI and the local police’s request to examine library computers. The law enforcement officials made the request without a warrant. A bomb threat had been sent in to Brandeis University and campus IT staff had determined that the email originated at the library’s IP address.
There’s been considerable criticism of the the librarian’s actions: They impeded an active investigation. Lives were at risk from a potential terrorist threat. Government-funded institutions don’t need to respect fourth-amendment law.
I think the librarians did the right thing. If the police and FBI believed there to be a real terrorist threat, they had one very obvious recourse: draw their weapons, arrest the library staff, and seize the computer equipment. Had there been any suspicion of imminent danger, had the librarians refused, and had the authorities believed that searching the equipment could have protected lives, I would have been upset if they had not. The fact that the standoff lasted 10 hours suggests that there was no emergency and therefore there could have been time to request a warrant.
The emerging role of libraries and librarians in protecting civil liberties has been getting some attention.
