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Method and Design Distributed electronically Internet Survey
“Quick-and-dirty” designTotal response time sought ~3 minutesQuestions attempted to be concisePrimarily relied on “yes/no/maybe” responses
Survey and all question were “self-selecting” and anonymousSection 215 imposed “gag order” “Cookie” used to prevent retaking IP addresses compared for duplication, then discarded
Distributed via email with a link to the survey to 15 library-related discussion lists:
Filtered out hits that contained primarily null values – “lurkers” (76 records discarded out of 1268 hits)
Example of Survey Interface
Question 1. You are currently a/an
Percent Total
Public Librarian 38.6% 454
Academic Librarian 61.4% 721
Total Respondents 1175(Abstained) 17
Respondents
FBI Library Awareness Program
USA PATRIOT ActQuestion 3. Rate your knowledge of the current USA PATRIOT Act and its implications to libraries? (1=No knowledge 10=Most knowledgeable)
Response Average 5.245.24 Total Respondents 1190(Abstained) 2
0
50
100
150
200
250
Respondents 75 83 147 130 182 152 204 172 37 8
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Post-Sept. 11th Environment
Question 4. Considering the post-Sept. 11 environment, and now a possible war with Iraq, do you believe that libraries should be monitored to prevent terrorist acts?
Percent Total
No, definitely not. Libraries should be places completely free of surveillance. 49.2% 562
No, but I would consider it if more terrorist acts occur. 20.2% 231
Yes, but only if there is proper oversight and limitations to the surveillance.
27.3% 312
Yes, absolutely. 3.2% 37
Total Respondents 1142
(Abstained) 50
Requests for Information
Question 5. Have you ever been approached by a member of the intelligence community to supply information on a client?
Percent Total
Yes 8.5% 99
No 88.6% 1029
Maybe/Not sure 2.8% 33
Total Respondents 1161(Abstained) 31
Question 6. Since Sept. 11, 2001, have you been approached by a member of the intelligence community to supply information on a client?
Percent Total
Yes 2.2% 25
No 96.5% 1115
Maybe/Not sure 1.4% 16
Total Respondents 1156(Abstained) 36
Question 7. Since Sept. 11, 2001, are you aware of any colleagues who have been questioned or asked to supply any client information?
Percent Total
Yes 15.1% 175
No 79.8% 923
Maybe/Not sure 5.1% 59
Total Respondents 1157
(Abstained) 35
Question 8. Does your library have a policy regarding the new surveillance powers in the USA PATRIOT Act and how staff should proceed with possible requests for client information?
Percent Total
Yes 35.8% 410
No 31.5% 361
I’m not aware of any. 32.7% 375
Total Respondents 1146
(Abstained) 46
Library Policy
Question 9. Would you be more willing to provide information on non-U.S. citizens than on U.S. citizens?
Percent Total
Yes 7.4% 84
No 76.8% 875
I don’t know/Not sure 15.8% 180
Total Respondents 1139(Abstained) 53
Question 10. Would you be willing to perform an act of civil disobedience, possibly even involving jail time, in order to protect your client’s rights?
Percent Total
Yes 13% 147
No 19.9% 225
Maybe, depends upon situation 67.1% 757
Total Respondents 1129(Abstained) 63
Civil Disobedience
Non-U.S. Citizen vs. U.S. Citizen
Requests for Information
Requests for Information
BIBSOFT list
CNI-COPYRIGHT
DIG_REF
FISC-L
GOVDOC-L
LIBADMIN
LIBLICENSE-L
LIBREF-L
LITA-L
MARS-L
MEDLIB-L NEWLIB-L
PUBLIB
SRRTAC-L
STS-L
Purpose
Question 2. Did you know that the FBI ran a surveillance program throughout the 1970’s and ‘80’s called the FBI Library Awareness Program?
Percent Total
Yes 50.3% 598
No 40.7% 483
Not sure 9% 107
Total Respondents 1188(Abstained) 4
THE SURVEY
To provide an informal assessment of the awareness and attitudes of public and academic librarians to
the issue of library surveillance and the USA PATRIOT Act.
Richard Robison, Graduate Student
College of Information Studies, UMD, College Park
