In spite of insisting that they’ve never used the Patriot Act to investigate library records, a recent survey by the American Library Association found over 200 incidents where library records were requested either formally or informally.

…Gonzales told Congress in April the law had never been used to force a library or bookstore to turn over records. Mueller told lawmakers that some libraries have turned over material voluntarily….

Sheketoff said it isn’t possible to verify Gonzales’s statement because people served with demands for records can be ordered not to discuss the request. The library association’s confidential survey of public and academic libraries was designed to bypass gag orders and find out if there have been any formal or informal requests for records, she said….

Chip Pitts, chairman of the board of Amnesty International USA, told a House hearing June 10 that “lots of librarians have been approached for records.” He said one in Seattle turned down a request by an FBI agent for “a list of all people who had checked out a biography of Osama bin Laden since 9/11.”…

The New York Times has more details.