In a letter to an inquiring senator, Assistant Attorney General Daniel Bryant said Americans who borrow or buy books surrender their right of privacy.

A patron who turns over information to the library or bookstore "assumes the risk that the entity may disclose it to another," Bryant, the Justice Department's chief of legislative affairs, said in a letter to Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

I can almost see that applying to libraries, because I guess they are government (at least local government) entities. So although I'm pretty sure most people think libraries are a pretty safe place to go, it is perhaps not a stretch to say that you shouldn't expect your selections to be private.

On the other hand, I'm not sure what the logic is that says when you buy something from a private seller, the government has a right to know what it is . . .

Libraries post Patriot Act warnings / Santa Cruz branches tell patrons that FBI may spy on them