Libraries and political action on Talk of the Nation
National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation examined some of the recent political issues concerning libraries, including the Patriot Act and the recent Supreme Court ruling, on Wednesday, July 2. Matthew Battles of Houghton Library at Harvard University gives a historical perspective about political action related to libraries, including the FBI’s observations of people using libraries in the 1970s. Judith Krug of the Office for Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association talks about issues related to Internet filtering and the recent Supreme Court ruling upholding a federal law requiring libraries that receive federal funding to filter Internet sites to protect children from pornography. Anne Turner, the director of libraries for the city/county library system in Santa Cruz, California, discusses why her library posted provisions of the USA Patriot Act to inform their patrons about the law.
