# 1568
For
Librarians in
New Mexico Hitch hik er
The Hitchhiker is available upon re quest on com put er
disc, cassette tape, in braille, or in large print. It may
also be seen on the State Library WEB site: http:
// www. stlib. state. nm. us.
The HITCH HIKER is published weekly by the New
Mexico State Library, a division of the Offi ce of Cul tur al
Affairs, 1209 Camino Carlos Rey, Santa Fe, NM 87505.
Send news items to Robert Upton, EDITOR. ☎ 505- 476-
9764, FAX 505- 476- 9761.
October 18, 2004
NEW COURT DECISION ON
PATRIOT ACT
ALAWON ( American Library Association
Washington Offi ce Newsline) for September 30 reported
that a court decision at the end of September marked
an important victory for civil liberties and may affect
libraries. The federal district court judge in the southern
district of New York struck down Section 505 of the Pa-triot
Act which permitted the FBI unchecked authority
to obtain subscriber information, toll billing records, and
other transactional records from electronic communica-tions
service providers “ without any judicial oversight
or opportunity for challenge.” Section 505 authorizes
the FBI to issue National Security Letters ( NSL) to
compel production of certain records whenever the FBI
certifi es that those records are relevant to a terrorism or
counter- terrorism investigation. And, like Section 215 of
the Patriot Act, NSL recipients are subject to a limitless
gag order that forbids disclosure of even the fact that the
FBI has sought or obtained records.
Since many libraries may be “ electronic service
providers” if they provide public access to the Internet,
libraries are among the entities that may benefi t from
this ruling. In striking down the provision in Doe vs.
Ashcroft, the judge found that the secret administrative
subpoenas violated the fourth amendment because they
“ effectively bar or substantially deter any judicial chal-lenge
to the NSL.” It further found that even if judicial
review were provided, the gag order violated the First
Amendment because it represented “ a prior restraint on
speech that was sweeping in scope” and appeared to ap-ply
“ in perpetuity.”
While the judge���s order represents an important
milestone in the fi ght to cut back on the worst excesses
of the Patriot Act, it does not have any immediate effect
because the judge stayed enforcement of its judgment
for 90 days in order to allow the government time either
to appeal to the Second Circuit or to raise objections in
the District Court.
The decision is unlikely to have any immediate
impact on libraries for two reasons. First, the decision
has been stayed and it is likely that it will remain so
during appeal. Second, because of the cloak of secrecy
that has shrouded the NSL process, it is impossible to
know whether NSLs have been served in libraries and
if so how often or in what circumstances this has oc-curred.
Longer term, the decision may have an impact
on pending litigation challenging the gag order in Sec-tion
215, which is virtually identical to the gag order
struck down by the court.
BRIEFINGS
Get it hot. “ Hot Topics in the News,” a feature on
the New Mexico State Library web site ( see http:
// www. stlib. state. nm. us – click on News & Events in
upper right hand corner), has a new partner – the New
Mexico State University Library – and a new name:
“ New Mexico News Plus.” In an effort to include the
interests of both the northern and southern parts of the
state, NMSU and the State Library are collaborating on
New Mexico News Plus, which is a daily alert service
designed to assist librarians in New Mexico.
Federal Document librarians Kirsten Clark of
NMSU in Las Cruces and Laurie Canepa of the State
Library in Santa Fe survey the local news papers each
morning for articles that refer to government reports,
legislation, court decisions, statistics, and regulations.
Once identifi ed, Kirsten and Laurie search to locate the
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referenced material on the offi cial agency sites, and a
link is made to the full text of the offi cial version. The
goal is to have the material located, linked and ready for
access on the web by 9 a. m. each day.
If you or your patrons want to see the facts
behind the headlines by studying statistics in depth,
select a current theme for a research paper, read the of-fi
cial text of that legislation or court opinion, study the
environmental impact statement so they can participate
in regional decision making, or fi nd a quick contact to
answer the questions about government policy, New
Mexico News Plus will link you to the primary source
on the morning of the press release. You’ll get more
news by immediate access to national reports such as
the 9/ 11 Commission Report as well as reports of local
interest dealing with WIPP, Los Alamos National Labs,
grazing issues, local environmental issues, etc. An A- Z
page will help you to fi nd documents mentioned in pre-vious
days or months. A link to New Mexico News Plus
on your page will provide you and your patrons with
instant access to a world of relevant information.
Privacy in action. KOMO 4 News of Seattle, Wash-ington,
tells in a report from October 5 that the FBI
wants to know who checked out a book from a small
library in Deming, Washington, ( not New Mexico)
about Osama Bin Laden. But the library isn’t giving out
names, saying the government has no business know-ing
what their patrons read. Located in rural Whatcom
County, the library isn’t much larger than a family
home, but that didn’t stop it from taking on the feds. “ I
think we all fi gure it’s places like the New York Li-brary
System that’s going to be one of the fi rst we hear
about,” said Deborra Garret, the attorney for the What-com
County Library System.
At the center of the issue is a book titled Bin
Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America. When
a patron reported than someone had written a quote
from bin Laden in the margin that read: “ Let history be
witness I am a criminal,” the FBI confi scated the book
and demanded to know the names and addresses of ev-eryone
who ever checked it out. The library refused.
“ Libraries are a haven where people should be
able to seek whatever information they want to pursue
without any threat of government intervention,” said
Director Joan Airoldi. Because of privacy policies, the
library does not give out circulation records without a
court order. When the FBI got a grand jury subpoena,
the library fi led a motion to quash it – citing the rights
of all people who use the library. “ Like the right to read
and to read the material of one’s choice without fear that
someone will come around with questions about why
you chose that book,” said Garrett.
The FBI withdrew the subpoena, reserving
the right to fi le it again. A spokeswoman for the U. S.
Attorney’s offi ce says they are not permitted to discuss
anything that involves the grand jury.
If the feds had demanded the records under the
Patriot Act, the library would have had to hand them
over without question and without help from the courts.
The FBI still has the bin Laden book. Librarians
point out, it’s overdue.
April Zepeda fi lled the report. The story is on
the Web at http:// www. komotv. com/ stories/ 33363. htm.
The Patriot Act impacts all libraries ( big and
small). If you are interested in writing a policy in
response to the Patriot Act for your library, the New
Mexico State Library has a template policy that
you can view at http:// www. stlib. state. nm. us/ fi les/
patriotactpolicy. pdf.
Author to speak. Thursday, November 18, from 7- 9
p. m., Pamela Christie will present her book, The King’s
Lizard, at the Vista Grande Public Library in Eldorado
near Santa Fe. Billed as a tale of murder and deception
in Old Santa Fe, Christie’s story transports the reader
back to 1782. Christie, a long- time Santa Fean, spent
four years researching and writing her historical mys-tery.
She has lived in New Mexico since 1970, original-ly
in a small mountain village north of the Ghost Ranch,
and since 1984 in her own house that she built in Eldo-rado.
She loves to hike and explore the countryside she
writes about, tracking ancient mysteries and gathering
stories of the people who lived in the rugged kingdom
centuries ago.
Local historian William Baxter, whose com-pany
produced the book, will be present as well. His-tory
buffs and those who want to know more about
what it takes to build a book should fi nd this evening
worthwhile. Signed copies of The King’s Lizard will
be available for purchase and light refreshments will
be served. Ms. Christie’s appearance is part of VGPL’s
Local Author series. The library is located next to the
El Dorado school on Avenida Torreon. For further
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information contact the library at ( 505) 466- READ or
e- mail READ@ VGLibrary. org.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
NMLA scholarships. Are you working or planning to
work toward an Associate��s, Bachelor’s, or Master’s de-gree
in Library Science? Then look on the New Mexico
Library Association website at http:// www. nmla. org/
membership. php and click on Scholarship and Grants
Applications. NMLA has a variety of programs to help
librarians and would- be librarians attain educational
goals. Continuing Education Grants promote profes-sional
development through the Continuing Education
Fund with support for applicants to attend workshops,
conferences, and related activities. The Marion Dor-roh
Memorial Scholarship offers up to $ 2,000 for study
toward an advanced degree at an ALA- accredited
library school. The grant is awarded each year at the
spring NMLA conference. The College Scholarship
Fund is designed to support undergraduate college work
towards an Associate’s degree in Library Science which
leads to certifi cation, or undergraduate or graduate study
toward school librarian endorsement. For more infor-mation,
visit the web site or contact Isabel Rodarte, 921
Paseo de Onate, Espanola, NM 87532; ( 505) 747-
2241 or e- mail irodarte@ nnmcc. edu.
Get ready for Summer Reading 2005. The Sum-mer
Reading Program workshops are already ready to
roll! If you haven’t already signed up, now’s the time.
The theme for 2005 is: “ Talking Books/ Los libros nos
hablan/ Naaltsoos Bahane ´ hólóní.”
The 2005 SRP workshops have been scheduled
in four locations:
Wednesday, November 3 - Truth or Con-sequences
Public Library
Thursday, November 4 - Moriarty Public
Library
Friday, November 5 - New Mexico State
Library, Santa Fe
Monday, November 8 - Woolworth Com-munity
Library, Jal
The morning half of these all- day workshops
will include introduction of the theme ( initial graphics
and clip art); ideas for implementing the theme; demon-strations;
brainstorming; sharing; etc. Each library rep-resented
at the workshop will receive the workshop CD
and other goodies including two Braille- themed posters
and a “ Braille Bug” alphabet card.
The afternoon will be a three- hour Signing with
Children Educators Workshop. Participants will learn
to teach sign language in a fun and educational way
through the use of songs, games and stories. The pro-gram
is designed for instruction of all children: hearing,
hard of hearing, deaf, and disabled. Each participant
will receive a CD of the songs and a 16- page handout.
There is no charge for the workshops; advance
registration, however, is required so that enough hand-outs
will be available. Visit the State Library website
at http:// www. stlib. state. nm. us and click on “ Librarian
Training Calendar” under Development Services for
more information. To register online, click on “ Online
Registration Page.” To register by phone, call Jackie
Dalmy toll- free at 1- 800- 340- 3890.
JOBS
Branch manager. The Albuquerque/ Bernalillo County
Library system ( division of the Cultural Services De-partment
of the City of Albuquerque) is accepting appli-cations
for M16, Library Branch Manager. The salary
range is $ 39,873-$ 48,464 annually plus benefi ts. Salary
advances fi ve percent upon completion of a six- month
probationary period. The position will direct, manage,
supervise, and participate in the work of staff respon-sible
for providing a wide range of public services to
customers within one or more branch library facilities.
Requires a Masters’ degree from an ALA accredited
institution with major coursework in Library Science
or Information Science; fi ve years of library experi-ence,
including two years of direct supervisory experi-ence
in a management and/ or administrative capacity.
An online application process can be accessed at http:
// www. cabq. gov/ jobs. Applications are also available at
the City of Albuquerque Human Resources Department
400 Marquette NW 7th Floor Suite 703, Albuquerque
NM 87103. This advertisement will close at 5 p. m.,
October 29.
Two positions at New Mexico State Library. The
New Mexico State Library is seeking two energetic,
self- starting, team- oriented, creative librarians in its
Library Development Services Bureau.
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Hitchhiker
New Mexico State Library
1209 Camino Carlos Rey
Santa Fe, NM 87505
Non- Profi t Org.
U. S. Postage
PAID
SANTA FE
Permit No. 375
The Continuing Education Coordinator manages the statewide continuing education program for librarians
( primarily public); develops regularly scheduled training classes; publishes an annual calendar of training
events; explores and implements when possible alternative training formats such as web based, streamed,
and broadcast training; contracts with and manages outside trainer/ contractors as needed; collaborates with
all State Library trainers; does general consulting for librarians on best library management practices. This
position provides both responsive training opportunities as determined by the annual needs assessment, and
proactive opportunities as determined to be appropriate for the New Mexico library community.
The Technology Consultant plans, develops, and manages a technology training, consulting, and support
program for public libraries; provides consulting services for library technology planning; plans services
from four to- be- hired tech contractors and coordinate those services with two existing contractors; con-ducts
technology needs assessment and responsively tailors a program to meet those needs; actively con-tributes
to the development of the “ New Mexico Library Portal” and the WebJunction New Mexico pilot
project; does general consulting for librarians on best library management practices.
These are both Librarian- A classifi ed positions and both require a Master’s degree in Library or Information Sci-ence
from a program accredited by the American Library Association plus four years post- master’s paid library
experience. The salary range is $ 14.435 to $ 25.661 per hour. For more information about the positions contact
Ann Grimm, Director, Library Development Services Bureau at ( 505) 476- 9720.
The jobs are due to be posted on the State Personnel Offi ce’s Jobs Bulletin web site at http:// www. state. nm. us/ spo
from October 24 through October 29. See the SPO website for application specifi cs and forms. The Job Inter-est
Form ( JIF), a résumé, and transcripts ( unoffi cial OK) must arrive at the State Personnel Offi ce, 2600 Cerrillos
Road, Santa Fe, NM 87507, by the closing deadline. IMPORTANT: In addition to the JIF, résumé, and transcripts
sent to SPO, send or deliver copies of same and a cover letter to Heather Gallegos- Rex, Deputy State Librarian,
NM State Library, 1209 Camino Carlos Rey, Santa Fe, NM 87507 during the open recruitment period.
