On Wed, 1 Jun 1994 MrUnderhil@aol.com wrote:
> Hugh, I'm gratified to see that you've accepted this exchange with
> your customary good humor. :)
BTW-Hugh and I talked privately about this, so there is no hurt feelings
anywhere.
>
. . . (If
> an ordinary person were to inadvertently discover an escape conspiracy,
> such a person would have a duty to report it.
Morally and ethically, yes. but legally I do not think that such a person
would have a duty to report unless it was part of that person's job or
imposed through statute..
> privacy issue since the discovery is accidental by hypothesis.) It seems to
> me that libraries create this right for their patrons and it becomes a
> right (as opposed to a privilege) through patrons' reliance on it.
Libraries in an of themselves cannot create rights. They are created
through statue, case law etc.
A person
> imprisoned for insider trading who wants library materials on piano playing
> may continue to rely on the policy. My question is: is there some nexus
> between the content of the materials and the status of the patron which
> waives the right to privacy?
Yes. For example, in Houston the public library bought copies of
Madonna's Sex book. Juveniles went bananas, as did their parents. The
book was kept behind a counter and patrons had to ask a circulation
person to see it. I do not think that they had to show id but just the
idea of having to pubicly ask to see it was thought by the local pillars
of the community to stop the perversion of young minds. I am not saying
that I agrtee with this policy I am just relating the story. The library
set the policy because they did not want their funding cut by angry
parents and also I do not think that the book would have have lasted the
week because patrons would have starting cutting pictures out.
>
> disagree with my analysis. You seem to be saying that prisoners have no
> right to privacy _absolutely_.
I would not argue absolute loss of privacy. I mean if a prison granted
congujal visits to spouses (a policy I support, BTW) certainly privacy is
mandatory. But I just can't see giving the prisoners infomration on how
to build a bomb from common every day items.
The responsibiility rests with the prison authroties, not with the
librarians. But different requests seemingly innocuous enought together
could constitute a problem of life threatening proportions to other
inmates and the guards.
Susan
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