ERIC Number: EJ765664
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Jun
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1041-7915
EISSN: N/A
What Happened to Me when the Police Came Knocking
Reutty, Michele
Computers in Libraries, v27 n6 p11-12, 14-15 Jun 2007
Michele Reutty was director of the Free Public Library of Hasbrouck Heights for 17 years. Hasbrouck Heights is a mile-square "bedroom community" of New York City that is located in northern New Jersey. In this article, she narrates her experience--one that probably occurs with alarming regularity to professional librarians all over the United States: The police came knocking at her door--without proper documentation--and asking for information about a patron. When the police asked her for some patron information, she followed the letter of the law. But that did not keep her out of trouble. She was asked to sign papers saying she was guilty of many things, ranging from failure to contact the borough attorney first (he had contacted her and had given wrong advice) to purposely delaying the investigation. All of these papers ended with a paragraph that said she would not sue the municipality--ever. And if she did not sign, she was to be suspended for two weeks without pay. Rather than face this blot on her unblemished record, she resigned on October 2. She is now director of the Oakland (New Jersey) Public Library, a library positioned for greatness. For her, the best thing to happen from all of this heartache and trouble is that just about every library in New Jersey now has a policy that details exactly what to do if law enforcement officials come knocking at the door. (Contains 3 endnotes.)
Descriptors: Law Enforcement, Public Libraries, Police, Intellectual Freedom, Librarians, Privacy, Access to Computers, Library Services
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: New Jersey; United States
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A