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Patriot Act and MIT Libraries' policies on privacy

The MIT Libraries' privacy policy falls within the framework of MIT's policies on privacy and the disclosure of information, http://web.mit.edu/policies/11.0.html.

Information requested by subpoena or court order may only be released by an authorized officer of the Institute. For the Libraries, the Institute's authorized officer is the Director of Libraries.

Journal Verification Service

If you are asked when a certain journal issue was received, please refer the patron to Document Services. This service is called the Journal Verification Service, and is often used by law firms.

The journal verification service consists simply of a photocopy of the journal cover with its date stamp. The charge is the same as for a journal article. Rush charges apply if requested on a rush basis.

Here is the most commonly asked question about this procedure, with the answer supplied by Marilyn McSweeney, the Head of SAS:

Does the date stamp reflect the date cataloged? NO, it is the date of *receipt* in the Libraries. And there is not a useful date in any other record that would tell us when materials became available to users. It can only be said that the item became available to users *after* the date stamped on the cover.