Whereas, there are many provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, the Homeland Security Act, and the new guidelines of the Federal Bureau of Investigation that undermine constitutionally protected rights of Americans by expanding the authority of the government beyond already existing laws to investigate the private lives of citizens and non-citizens alike; and

Whereas, these provisions make it easier for law enforcement agents to engage in electronic surveillance and data collection for library users who are not suspected of any crime, and whose use of computers to browse the Internet, access email, or research online information may be under government surveillance without their knowledge or consent; and

Whereas, these new federal laws and policies disproportionately affect individuals who cannot afford or otherwise do not own their own equipment and must rely on public access computers in libraries; and

Whereas, the primary roles of the professional librarian are founded on the principles that facilitate the free flow of knowledge and information, encourage the free expression of ideas, and safeguard the constitutionally protected right of citizens to access those ideas free of censorship, violation of privacy, or governmental intrusion;

Therefore, be it resolved that while the New York Library Association strongly opposes terrorism, we affirm the need to remain vigilant against the erosion of our most fundamental civil liberties; and

Be it further resolved that the New York Library Association therefore opposes the use of governmental authority to infringe upon constitutionally protected privacy by data mining vast amounts of information on people not suspected of any crime, to suppress the free and open exchange of recorded information and knowledge; and

Be it further resolved that the New York Library Association encourages all librarians, library administrators, and library advocates to inform their communities, staff, and patrons about the ramifications and the dangers of current legislation, including the provisions of the USA Patriot Act, the Homeland Security Act, and other current legislation that threaten patron privacy and the confidentiality of library records; and

Be it further resolved that the New York Library Association affirms the rights of librarians everywhere to defend and support patron privacy and will join the efforts of the American Library Association and other organizations to facilitate the free flow of information, to defend patron privacy, and to amend or change the sections of the USA Patriot Act, the Homeland Security Act, and other related legislation that threaten or violate those rights; and

Be it further resolved that the New York Library Association urges the United States Congress to thoroughly discuss the ramifications of these laws, to consider repealing the provisions that threaten the rights of all American citizens, to actively oversee the implementation of these laws, and to preserve current measures that provide judicial review, and require probable cause, for the use of warrants, subpoenas, telephone monitoring devices and all other methods of collecting confidential information about individuals.

Resolved, that this resolution be forwarded to the President of the United States, to the Attorney General of the United States, to Members of both Houses of Congress, to the library community, and to others as appropriate.