The Library Research Center (LRC) supports the work of libraries, library associations, library vendors, and foundations. Based at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, the LRC specializes in social science approaches to data collection and analysis. Staff members work with clients in all steps of the research process from sampling and survey design through data analysis and presentation of results to governing boards.

Please contact Carole Palmer at clpalmer@uiuc.edu for more information on how to use the LRC for your next statistical project.

Have U.S. public libraries received any court orders for patron information under the USA Patriot Act?

In the 2002 study, Public Libraries and Civil Liberties, the Library Research Center surveyed directors of 1,505 of the 5,094 U.S. public libraries serving populations of over 5,000. We received 906 responses( 60.2% of those sampled) At the time of our survey of October and November, 2002, we found the following:

One librarian responding to the study "Public Libraries and Civil Liberties" stated his or her library had received a court order referencing section 215 of the Patriot Act or USC Title 50, Section 1862, and two libraries reported they had received court orders prohibiting them from telling patrons that authorities requested information. Two also indicated that they did not answer some of the questions in the survey because they believed they were legally prohibited from doing so. The survey is a weighted sample survey of U.S. public libraries. The full report gives population estimates for this study.