This article looks at how the concept of privacy has evolved in the ALA since the anarchist panic in the early 20th century to librarians pushing back against post-9/11 legislation. It starts with the 1906 case of Henry Melnek, who was arrested for stealing books from New York’s Astor Library. His arrest led to the investigation into his other activities and interests, such as checking out books that had pro-anarchist leanings. The US was experiencing fear over anarchist, especially Russian anarchist, influence on American institutions. Though the concept of patron privacy had been introduced in 1890, there was no explicit right to privacy at this time and Mr. Melnek’s reading interests were easily obtained and displayed for all to see. It wasn’t until 1939 when the ALA revised the 1930 Code of Ethics to include “to treat as confidential any private information obtained through contact with library patrons” that the right to privacy was formally adopted.

Discussion of privacy rights spiked again in the 1970s when the federal government attempted to access library patron records and implement library surveillance, in the fear of domestic terrorism, not unlike the 1906 Melnek case. Privacy issues in libraries spiked again in the 1990s in response to the FBI’s Library Awareness surveillance program and yet again in 2001 after the passage of the US Patriot Act. The article provides in-depth analysis of the events and overall atmosphere of the US culture leading up to each of these major events in ALA privacy history and how they are linked. It also discusses the need to continue to fight for the right to privacy, as evolving social and governmental structures will affect the ability of librarians to protect it.

The article itself is a very interesting look at the history of this specific issue within librarianship. The encroachments of various government agencies into patron privacy are all linked by the fear of terrorism. Whether it was the anarchists of the early 20th century, “radicals” of the 70s, or Islamic terrorists of the post-9/11 era, the fear of them has directly impacted patron right to privacy within libraries. The article did not go quite as in-depth into the issues of privacy in the post-1939 era as it did the pre-1939 era, which I think is unfortunate. Considering the article named Snowden in the NSA surveillance issues, including more in-depth discussion of the privacy concerns of the 70s, 90s, and 00s in order to help illustrate just why continuing to fight for patron privacy is important. It’s especially important in order to help highlight how these recurring, cyclic fears of terrorism can be used as a weapon against the rights of patrons as codified by the ALA.

Witt, S. (2017). The evolution of privacy within the American Library Association, 1906-2002. Library Trends, 65(4), pp. 639-657. DOI: 10.1353/lib.2017.0022