Written reference requests and logs of people who have used library Internet terminals are being destroyed on a daily basis.

The library system has decided to keep as little historical information as possible about library users, their borrowings and usage patterns, and Internet sessions. This is because the federal Justice Department has determined that libraries are a logical target of surveillance, following evidence that some September 11 hijackers used library computers for personal communication.

The library has placed notices advising users that federal agents may access borrowing records. So why is this happening?

In the wake of the Twin Towers attacks, Congress passed the Patriot Act, which drastically expanded the government's search and surveillance authority. Section 215 permits FBI agents to apply to a secret federal court for warrants to obtain library or bookstore records of any person connected to an investigation of international terrorism or spying.

These new warrants differ from conventional search warrants, as there is no requirement for agents to show that the target is suspected of a crime or possesses evidence of a crime. The new law prohibits libraries or bookstores from advising users, or anyone else, that the records have been requested.

Understandably, US librarians and booksellers have been to the forefront of those seeking to have these provisions repealed. There is some urgency, as the Bush administration is believed to be seeking an expansion of the Patriot Act, as opposition to sections of the original act is increasing.

The Justice Department has not helped its own cause by proffering advice that Americans who borrow or buy books surrender their right of privacy. A patron who provides information to libraries or bookstores "assumes the risk that the entity may disclose it to another."

An individual's right of privacy in such records is regarded as "inherently limited" and is outweighed by the government's need for information if the FBI can show it is pertinent to an investigation to protect against international terrorism or espionage.

The Justice Department is swift to point out that ordinary Americans have little to fear. The provisions threaten only potential terrorists. The Department states that a suspected terrorist may be after information on infrastructure or any other information that would help plan operations.

So if you are a property developer or investor, or perhaps a student or town planner, your research requests might end in an official FBI investigation.

A recent survey of 1500 libraries revealed that staff at 219 had co-operated with official requests for information about users, whereas staff at another 225 had not provided assistance. Libraries throughout the US are assessing the user information they keep and destroying that which is non-essential.

Traditionally, libraries have been places to which users have come to seek information. I suspect the US government has provided us with an interesting interpretation of our role as information providers.

I wonder if other governments have noticed. For now, we need to be alert but not alarmed.