September-October 2004

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Vermont Librarian Honored for Activism on Patriot Act

By Marjorie J. Censer

Vermont librarian and AAUP leader Trina Magi was awarded the Vermont Library Association's Sarah C. Hagar Award and a Playboy Foundation 2004 Hugh Hefner First Amendment Award in May. Both awards recognized her effort to gather state support against Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which expanded the authority of the FBI to search business records, including the records of bookstores and libraries. Section 215 also eliminated the requirement that federal agents show probable cause before searching records; FBI agents need only assert that the records may pertain to the investigation of terrorist or "other clandestine intelligence" activities. In addition, the act includes a provision that prohibits any person who has been served with a warrant from revealing that fact.

Magi, who is a member of the executive committee of the United Academics-University of Vermont, a faculty collective bargaining chapter affiliated with the AAUP and the American Federation of Teachers, joined colleagues to draft an open letter to Vermont's congressional representatives, Senators Jim Jeffords and Pat Leahy, and Representative Bernie Sanders. The Vermont Library Association board approved the statement. She was overwhelmed by the strong support she received, Magi says, adding that "it's been inspiring to see how much people care about their libraries and how special they think their libraries are, how they want them to stay that way."

Magi's letter, as well as one sent on behalf of New England booksellers by Linda Ramsdell, the co-recipient of the Hefner Award, prompted Sanders to introduce the Freedom to Read Protection Act, which proposed to exempt libraries and bookstores from Section 215. The AAUP, a supporter of the legislation, awarded Sanders the Henry T. Yost Congressional Recognition Award in June to acknowledge his support for higher education with the introduction of the bill.

Magi, who was also recently named Librarian of the Year by the New England chapter of the Association of College and Research Libraries, posted petition sheets at the University of Vermont and collected nearly one thousand signatures. In addition, she has encouraged those in other states to contact their representatives to ask them to sign the bill.

Despite its many cosponsors, the bill, offered as an amendment to an appropriations bill, narrowly failed in July, with a tie vote in the House of 210 to 210. Magi was disappointed by the outcome but hopes the bill will eventually pass.

The American Library Association, the American Booksellers Association, and the PEN American Center are currently sponsoring the Campaign for Reader Privacy, a petition drive that seeks to collect a million signatures in favor of amending Section 215. For more information, go to www.readerprivacy.com.