Librarians are making noise over the Patriot Act :

Every public computer inside this city's library has a new warning taped to its screen. Beware, the message says, anything you read is now subject to secret scrutiny by federal agents.

"We felt strongly that this had to be done," said librarian Linda Wilson. "The government has never had this kind of power before. It feels like Big Brother."

Across the country, in a movement that belies their staid image, librarians are rising up in anger and rallying against a law the Justice Department calls one of its most important new tools to help catch terrorists before they strike.

....Earlier this year, the American Library Association, which has 64,000 members, formally denounced the Patriot Act provision and passed a resolution urging Congress to repeal it. Since then, about two dozen state library groups -- from California to Georgia -- have taken the same stand. And that is only the beginning of the backlash.

Some libraries are taking more drastic action, like destroying records of what their visitors read--and their sign-up logs for computer time.

"This law is dangerous," said Emily Sheketoff, executive director of the ALA's Washington office. "I read murder mysteries -- does that make me a murderer? I read spy stories -- does that mean I'm a spy? There's no clear link between a person's intellectual pursuits and their actions."

We just gained a whole lot of new respect for librarians. Let's hope all businesses catch on and take similar action. This law applies to all business records--from Barnes and Noble to Laptop Lanes and everything in between.