Name Joan Airoldi | ||
 | ||
Whatcom County Library Director Joan Airoldi at Village Books for Banned Books Week Virtual Read-Out
Joan Airoldi is the former director of the Whatcom County Library System in Washington State.
Contents
- Whatcom County Library Director Joan Airoldi at Village Books for Banned Books Week Virtual Read Out
- Resisted targeting of library patron under the Patriot Act
- Awards
- References
Resisted targeting of library patron under the Patriot Act
In June 2004, with the support of staff from the Deming Library, a branch of the Whatcom County Library System, she refused to provide information requested by a visiting FBI agent regarding a patron's use of a book on Osama bin Laden. The library system informed the FBI that no information would be released without a subpoena or court order. She also led the library board to vote to fight any such subpoena in court. When that grand jury subpoena was eventually issued, the library prepared to challenge it in court, and the subpoena was quickly withdrawn. At the time, Airoldi made this statement: "Libraries are a haven where people should be able to seek whatever information they want to pursue without any threat of government intervention."
Awards
Airoldi received the 2005 PEN/Newman's Own First Amendment Award in recognition of this act. The Deming Library staff were similarly recognized, receiving a Human Rights Award in 2005 from the Whatcom County Human Rights Task Force.