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The proposed bill – SB611 - removes obstacles and legal barriers libraries sometimes face when a crime has been committed in the library while providing for continued protection to a libraries core foundational value…protecting patron privacy…in their reading histories, materials borrowed, resources reviewed, or services used at the library. 

The greatest change to the Michigan Library Privacy Act as proposed in SB611 has come in clarifying that a library record does not include video surveillance and that video surveillance can be turned over to law enforcement without a court order if it shows no identifying records. Libraries have an obligation to provide a safe and welcoming environment for the public that they serve. By updating the current Act we are providing the potential to make libraries safer by hastening the investigation of crimes committed in the library and on library property through video surveillance.

The MLA board, staff and our 1700 members across Michigan are highly supportive of the current revisions to the Michigan Library Privacy Act and recommend passage of SB611. http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2019-2020/billengrossed/Senate/pdf/2019-SEBS-0611.pdf