Welcome to our series that brings you original content from individuals in the news. We’re calling it “Verbatim” because these posts will let the authors speak for themselves.

Today, we feature a vintage op-ed by Bernie Sanders entitled, “On My Mind: The Patriot Act’s Threat to Libraries” published in 2003 in the journal American Libraries in February 2003:

For those who do not have a computer or can not afford the cost of Internet access at home, libraries are critical to their access to electronic information and communications. Today, many librarians fear that their patrons have already begun to self-censor their library use due to fear of government surveillance.

You can read the full essay and download the PDF here.