Zed sez, "A library in Washington is fighting the FBI's subpoena of the names and addresses of everyone who's checked out _Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America_. Why is the FBI so interested? Because someone wrote a Bin Laden quote, 'Let history be witness I am a criminal' in the margin."
Because of privacy policies, the library does not give out circulation records without a court order. When the FBI got a grand jury subpoena, the library filed a motion to quash it — citing the rights of all people who use the library.
"Like the right to read and to read the material of one's choice without fear that someone will come around with questions about why you chose that book," said Garrett.
The FBI withdrew the subpoena, reserving the right to file it again.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's office says they are not permitted to discuss anything that involves the grand jury.
If the feds had demanded the records under the Patriot Act, the library would have had to hand them over without question and without help from the courts.
