Editing American Library Association (section)

==== 1980s ====
The FBI tried to use surveillance in library settings as part of its [[Library Awareness Program]] of the 1980s; it aimed to use librarians "as partners in surveillance." The program was known to the FBI as "The Development of Counterintelligence Among Librarians," indicating that the FBI believed that librarians might be supportive in its counterintelligence investigations. The FBI attempted to profile "Russian or Slavic-sounding last names" of library patrons to look for possible "national security threats." The FBI wanted libraries to help it trace "the reading habits of patrons with those names."<ref name=":0" />

The ALA responded by writing to the FBI director. The Intellectual Freedom Committee also created "an advisory statement to warn libraries" of the Library Awareness Program, including ways to help librarians "avoid breaking their ethical obligations if faced with FBI surveillance."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lamdan|first=Sarah Shik|year=2013|title=Why library cards offer more privacy rights than proof of citizenship: Librarian ethics and Freedom of Information Act requestor policies|url=https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1019&context=cl_pubs|journal=Government Information Quarterly|volume=30|issue=2|pages=134|via=Science Direct|doi=10.1016/j.giq.2012.12.005|url-access=subscription}}</ref>