Ashcroft Tells Libraries to Destroy Citizen-Friendly Publications

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http://www.buzzflash.com/alerts/04/08/ale04025.html

 

American Library Association

 

 

August 2, 2004

 

Ashcroft Tells Libraries to Destroy Citizen-Friendly

Publications

 

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT

 

Statement regarding DOJ request for removal of

government publications by depository libraries

 

The following statement has been issued by

President-Elect Michael Gorman, representing President

Carol Brey-Casiano, who is currently in Guatemala

representing the Association:

 

July 30, 2004

 

Statement from ALA President-Elect Michael Gorman:

 

Last week, the American Library Association learned

that the Department of Justice asked the Government

Printing Office Superintendent of Documents to

instruct depository libraries to destroy five

publications the Department has deemed not

" appropriate for external use. " The Department of

Justice has called for these five these public

documents,

two of which are texts of federal statutes, to be

removed from depository libraries and destroyed,

making their content available only to those with

access to a law office or law library.

 

The topics addressed in the named documents include

information on how citizens can retrieve items that

may have been confiscated by the government during an

investigation. The documents to be removed and

destroyed include: Civil and Criminal Forfeiture

Procedure; Select Criminal Forfeiture Forms; Select

Federal Asset Forfeiture Statutes; Asset forfeiture

and money laundering resource directory; and Civil

Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000 (CAFRA).

 

ALA has submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

request for the withdrawn materials in order to obtain

an official response from the Department of Justice

regarding this unusual action, and why the Department

has requested that documents that have been available

to the public for as long as four years be removed

from depository library

collections. ALA is committed to ensuring that public

documents remain available to the public and will do

its best to bring about a satisfactory resolution of

this matter.

 

Librarians should note that, according to policy 72,

written authorization from the Superintendent of

Documents is required to remove any documents. To this

date no such written authorization in hard copy has

been issued.

 

Keith Michael Fiels

Executive Director

American Library Association

(800) 545-2433 ext.1392

 

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT