Here's some information and background on the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (USA PATRIOT Act or USAPA) of 2001. Additions? Comments? Please email radlib at ucimc dot org.

Here's the text of the USAPA courtesy of Thomas.gov. A good place to start on gathering information about USAPA is the Wikipedia entry on USAPA. Dan Tsang, librarian at UC Irvine, has put together a Selected bibliography of Viet Dinh, assistant attorney general under John Ashcroft, and chief architect on USAPA.

PATRIOT II

Please do your part to stop the PATRIOT II before it becomes law. One very easy way to take action is to send a free electronic fax through the ACLU's Stop the New Patriot Act. You can simply point, click, and type to send an electronic message to your elected officials.

For more information regarding how the PATRIOT II will effect you, see: AlterNet: Get Ready for PATRIOT II

From the American Library Association (ALA):

• 
  USA PATRIOT ACT of 2001
  
• 
  The USA PATRIOT Act in the Library
  
• 
  What to do about Laws and Government Actions That infringe on Civil Liberties and Privacy
  
  (PDF)
• 
  RESOLUTION ON THE USA PATRIOT ACT AND RELATED MEASURES THAT INFRINGE ON THE RIGHTS OF LIBRARY USERS
  
  (
  PDF)

From the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU):

• 
  The USA PATRIOT Act and Government Actions that Threaten Our Civil Liberties
  
  (PDF)
• 
  ACLU on USAPA
  

News regarding the USAPA and Libraries/Librarians:

• Bangor Daily News: "
  Calais Librarian, Reporter Lauded by Library Group" (10/19/04)
• KOMOTV.com: "
  Small Town Library Takes on the Feds" (10/05/04)
• Wired.com: "Don't Mess With Librarians" (9/15/04)
• BBC News: "
  State Of The Union: Opposing the Patriot Act" (9/13/04)
• Ann Arbor News: "No requests for library patron records at U-M" (9/11/04)
• Boston Globe: "US lawyers say secret court could hear Patriot Act challenges" (9/5/04)