Skip to content

Library privacy protected with new legislation


Saturday, July 23, 2011

San Mateo Daily Journal

A new state law that takes effect Jan. 1 will add an extra layer of privacy for library users in the digital age.
California’s library privacy laws were created before the advent of the Internet and, as a result, an individual’s interaction with the library outside of circulation was not protected under state law until Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 445 earlier this month.

The bill was authored by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, but inspired by Librarylaw.com founder Mary Minow, who also manages the Stanford Copyright and Fair Use website.

Minow proposed the legislation as part of Simitian’s “There Oughta Be A Law” contest.

View the full story (San Mateo Daily Journal)