News Room: SB 445: Library Records

On issues ranging from clean energy to elder abuse and from drug abuse to consumer protection, these bills authored by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) will become law on or by January 1. read more ...

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.

read more ...

Senate Bill 445 by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) to provide 21st century privacy protections for California library patrons, has been signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown. California’s library privacy laws were created before the use of the Internet. As a result, an individual’s interaction with the library outside of the typical library book circulation is not protected under current law. read more ...

The California Legislature has approved Senate Bill 445 by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) to provide 21st century privacy protections for California library patrons. California’s library privacy laws were created before the use of the Internet. As a result, an individual’s interaction with the library outside of the typical library book circulation is not protected under current law. read more ...

State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) has announced two winners in this year’s “There Oughta Be a Law” contest. The winning entries would improve screening for breast cancer, suggested by Amy Colton of Soquel, and update privacy protections for library patrons, suggested by Mary Minow of Cupertino. Simitian has introduced bills to turn those proposals into law read more ...