Refuge of a Scoundrel: The Patriot Act in Libraries [Hardcover]

Herbert N. Foerstel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 2004 | ISBN-10: 1591581397 | ISBN-13: 978-1591581390

The USA Patriot Act may be the most complex and controversial federal statute in American history, argued to undercut American civil liberties in countless ways, including a dramatic extension of domestic surveillance. Providing a broad picture of how the new surveillance powers affect all Americans—citizens and non-citizens alike—the lessons of this book will be relevant to any businesses that maintain personnel records and electronic data that were considered confidential before the Patriot Act, as well as a broad range of individuals, including librarians, bookstore owners, students, scholars, journalists, businessmen, and anyone concerned with American civil liberties.

Informative appendices include the historic University of Illinois survey of public library surveillance since September 11, 2001, and copies of some of the standard court orders that may be served to libraries and bookstores.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

When Attorney General John Ashcroft accused some librarians of "baseless hysteria" in their opposition to the USA Patriot Act, the controversy surrounding this legislation--enacted by Congress following the 9/11 attacks--expanded further. Foerstel, a librarian and author of several works on the First Amendment, has written a passionate attack on the law and describes its negative impact on library users, librarians, and libraries throughout the country. A diligent researcher, he combed the print literature and the Web and even conducted personal interviews with some government officials and librarians to buttress his case against this legislation. Needless to say, a book entitled Refuge of a Scoundrel does not purport to offer a balanced perspective, and one can't fault an author for not writing the book some readers may want. The worst terrorist attack in American history has placed in stark relief the debate about maintaining national security while preserving our civil rights and liberties. Foerstel has done an admirable job in advocating the latter. In the future, one hopes that a similarly capable author can explain the justification for these stringent legislative measures affecting libraries. Donald Altschiller
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Foerstel, a librarian and author of several works on the First Amendment, has written a passionate attack on the law and describes its negative impact on library users, librarians, and libraries throughout the country....[a] book entitled Refuge of a Scoundrel does not puport to offer a balanced perspective, and one can't fault an author for not writing the book some readers may want. The worst terrorist attack in American History has placed in stark relief the debate about maintaining national security while preserving our civil rights and liberties. Foerstel has done an admirable job in advocating the latter."-Booklist/Professional Reading

Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Libraries Unlimited (January 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591581397
• ISBN-13: 978-1591581390
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,585,311 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Accessible and Eye-opening, November 29, 2010

By 

htartaglino - See all my reviews

This review is from: Refuge of a Scoundrel: The Patriot Act in Libraries (Hardcover)

This book was a huge help to me in writing a paper about the Patriot Act in libraries. But it's a great book in general too, because not a lot of people really grasp the consequences that the Patriot Act has on our rights to intellectual freedom and privacy. A lot of our liberties were taken away from us when that bill was passed, and Foerstel does a great job of revealing the consequences of its passage, on libraries and patrons of libraries alike. This book made reading about the Patriot Act accessible, easy to understand, and is a great resource that I think every library should own, if only to better inform patrons of their rights.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 'Totalitarian'= 'total control of your reading habits', March 5, 2005

By 

John C. Landon "nemonemini" (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Refuge of a Scoundrel: The Patriot Act in Libraries (Hardcover)

This is a thorough history and expose of the fine print in the Patriot Act, with the consequences for libraries, librarians and students in universities. The author details the history of the earlier attempts in this line, such as the FBI's Library Awareness Program, which were shot down, but obviously 9/11 gave some people the green light to try again.