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Keynote Speakers: Barbara Bailey and Janet Nocek

In 2005, Barbara Bailey and Janet Nocek, two of the four Connecticut librarians and members of the Library Connection, a nonprofit consortium were ordered not to discuss an FBI demand for patrons' records. The gag order on the librarians was issued under what's known as a National Security Letter -- an administrative subpoena for records that the FBI can issue without prior court approval. Two years before this, then-attorney General John Ashcroft ridiculed the American Library Association for its "breathless reports and baseless hysteria" about a USA PATRIOT Act provision that allows FBI agents to search library records without a warrant. Ashcroft repeatedly denied that the feds were snooping into Americans' reading habits and computer activities.

The four librarians challenged the gag order with the help of the American Civil Liberties Union. But before the lawsuit was fully litigated, prosecutors dropped their appeal, leading a judge to rescind the gag order on the librarians. Nonetheless, analysts say the gag-order option remains available for the government in future cases.

Throughout this distressing time, the librarians were never told why the FBI wanted their files. A federal prosecutor later disclosed that it was a matter of "domestic surveillance."

Civil libertarians say their case is a chilling example of the threats to privacy rights in the post-9/11 era.

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