Here are my questions:
* What was the amount of time between the viewing of the material and when the police came asking for records?
* How often does the library clear out the cache and history files of their public computers?
* What is the library’s policy on supplying such information to the police?
* Did the police have a search warrant, subpoena, or other legal document requiring the library to give up such information?
* I’m sorry, but one does not “find” child pornography in the library. You might use a library computer to access it but “find” implies that the library carried/offered it.
I’ll actually be in Iowa City in two weeks. I’m considering stopping by to see if I can find any answers to these questions (time allowing). If you know anything about this story I’d love to hear from you.
Michael Sauers is currently the Director of Technology for Do Space in Omaha, NE. Michael has been training librarians in technology for the past twenty years and has also been a public library trustee, a bookstore manager for a library friends group, a reference librarian, serials cataloger, technology consultant, and bookseller since earning his MLS in 1995 from the University at Albany’s School of Information Science and Policy. Michael has also written dozens of articles for various journals and magazines and his fourteenth book, Emerging Technologies: A Primer for Librarians (w/ Jennifer Koerber) was published in May 2015 and more books are on the way. In his spare time he blogs at travelinlibrarian.info, runs The Collector’s Guide to Dean Koontz Web site, takes many, many photos, and typically reads more than 100 books a year.
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