In the late 1970s, the FBI contacted public libraries, in the hope of enlisting librarians to disclose the names of readers with foreign-sounding names interested in technically sensitive documents. In the 1990s, the National Security Archive (not a government entity) obtained, through a Freedom of Information Act request, an FBI briefing document intended to help respond to congressional inquiries into this Library Awareness Program.

The document proves that government interest in library reading records is not new. It also shows that the FBI considered its then-current administrative subpoena powers sufficient even at the height of the Cold War, when the Soviet block had, on average, 1,000 or more active spies in this country.

The National Security Archive was good enough to share the document with the author, and I'd like to share it with you.

Unfortunately, the document is too large to be linked to on this website--nearly 3 megs--and it takes quite a while to open. Please e-mail me a request, however, and I'll be happy to send you a copy.