Library Freedom

With a population just above 13,000 people,  the quaint town of Lebanon, New Hampshire is nestled not far from the Connecticut river in the northwest corner of the state – a few miles from Dartmouth College. In July 2015, the local library set up a system to protect the privacy of patrons using its computers by installing Tor, the platform that routes users’ Internet traffic through various relay points, making warrantless surveillance of browsing habits and traffic more difficult. 

The Kilton Library’s Tor relay node attracted the attention of the Department of Homeland Security, which contacted local officials and law enforcement. Police came the library and warned administrators, including IT Librarian Chuck McAndrew that Tor could aid criminal behavior. In response, the library initially took down the relay, but later changed its mind and reinstalled it. The library board of trustees felt that hosting a relay like Tor aligned with libraries’ values of fostering intellectual freedom for local users as well as others around the world.

Kilton staff worked with the Library Freedom Project. The Project teaches librarians about the threats that surveillance poses to privacy and civil liberties an also instructs about digital tools like Tor that can help mitigate such threats.

Alison Macrina is a librarian, privacy rights activist, and the founder and director of the Library Freedom Project. She spoke to Law and Disorder radio about the Project.