Document Type
Honors Project
Abstract
Historically, national emergencies have prompted the US government to limit private rights in the interest of security. The librarian profession opposed such limitations in the USA PATRIOT Act because it contradicted their professional values. This paper examines how professional identity affects the interaction between librarians and the law. I gathered evidence through in-depth interviews with Twin Cities librarians. The paper concludes that librarian practices stemming from professional values hinder the full implementation of national security policy but do not lead to absolute defiance. This project illuminates the importance of professional groups as sources of private resistance to national security policy.
Recommended Citation
Minge, Ahna, "Security Policy, State Power, and Professional Resistance: Libraries and the USA PATRIOT Act" (2008). Political Science Honors Projects. 15.
https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/poli_honors/15
© Copyright is owned by author of this document
