Article

Why Are Librarians Mad About the USA PATRIOT Act? by Anita Ramasastry

Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, also referred to as the “libraries” provision, allows the government to gain access to patrons’ library records without their knowledge. In this article, Anita Ramastastry describes the controversies surrounding its reauthorization.

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Lessons

Lessons to help your students understand the topics and issues raised in the article Why Are Librarians Mad About the USA PATRIOT Act? by Anita Ramasastry

Teachable Moment.org
This web site from the Educators for Social Responsibility of the Metropolitan Area (New York), offers free lesson plans and classroom activities, including:

• Thinking About Patriotism
  This lesson uses Document Based Questions about readings from the Statute of Liberty, Susan Sontag, and others, to examine their ideas about patriotism.
• The Patriot Act, Terrorism & the Bill of Rights
  This lesson gives the opportunity to learn about some controversial provisions of the Patriot Act and to explore a values conflict: between protecting the Bill of Rights and the Constitution and combating terrorist threats effectively.

Resources

Additional resources to explore the topics and issues raised in the article Why Are Librarians Mad About the USA PATRIOT Act? by Anita Ramasastry.

American Libraries Association Resources on USA PATRIOT Act
This site includes reauthorization analyses.

Etzioni, Amitai. How Patriotic is the Patriot Act: Freedom Versus Security in the Age of Terrorism.New York: Routledge, 2004.

Dempsey, James X. and David Cole.Terrorism and the Constitution: Sacrificing Civil Liberties in the Name of National Security. New York: New Press, 2006.

Federation of American Scientists
The “Intelligence” section of this Web site includes Congressional Research Service Reports about the USA PATRIOT Act, including “USA PATRIOT ACT Reauthorization In Brief,” current intelligence news, and executive orders and directives.

Patriot Debates: A Source Blog
A blog describing the pre reauthorization debate.

U. S. Department of Justice on USA PATRIOT Act

War, Terrorism, and Our Classrooms: Teaching in the Aftermath of the September 11 Tragedy
A special issue of the journal, “Rethinking Schools” includes numerous teaching ideas.

Teacher Tips

Teaching tips on topics and strategies.

Creating Strategies and Conditions for Civil Discourse About Controversial Issues
by John Allen Rossi
Tips from an online workshop from Annenberg Media’s teaching web site, learner.org.