Security and Freedom: Issues Facing Librarians Removal of Government Information

摘要

To what extent will Americans reduce their rights in order to feel secure and safe? The terrorist attacks and subsequent war on terrorism challenged America to raise this question. In order to effectively secure the country, the Bush administration along with Congress enacted laws and administrative decisions that reduce access to government information. Absent from many of these decisions is a scheduled return to normalcy; a timeframe when public access to government information is the rule, not the exception. Members from the American Library Association (ALA), Government Documents Round Table (GODORT) are longtime champions of public access and government accountability. A resolution from the American Library Association to Congress was sent in January 2002 expressing their concern that "public access to government information" not be restricted "absent specific compelling and documented national security or public safety concerns regarding the information in question." (http://sunsite.berkelev.edu/GODORT/resolutions/20020121265.html) To further address concerns about the implications of long-term access, the Federal Documents Task Force (FDTF) of GODORT established a work group to examine the implications of new legislation and administrative decisions resulting from the war on terrorism.