MONTPELIER, Vt. – Librarians around the country put a picture of Vermont Rep. Bernie Sanders on the cover of “Library Journal” magazine and thanked him for his work to protect the privacy of their patrons after the passage of the USA Patriot Act.

Sanders was chosen as the journal’s politician of the year in part because he introduced legislation that limits authorities’ access to records of what people check out from libraries or buy from bookstores.

“No one disagrees that we need to vigorously fight terrorism,” Sanders said in a statement Monday. “But that does not mean that we need to give the government access to the reading records of the American public with virtually no oversight by the courts or Congress.”

Sanders also works to educate the public about the law, said Trina Magi, a reference librarian at the Bailey/Howe Library at the University of Vermont and one of the librarians who nominated the independent representative.

“He hasn’t just drafted a bill and introduced it; he’s been holding town meetings across the state and having really good discussions with the citizens of Vermont about what the implications are,” Magi said. “It has taken a lot of time, and we think that shows a real commitment to libraries.”

The USA Patriot Act, passed after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, expanded government surveillance capabilities, toughened criminal penalties for terrorists and removed a legal barrier that for years prevented intelligence agencies and criminal investigators and prosecutors from sharing information.

Librarians and booksellers reacted immediately to a provision that gave authorities access to records of what people check out from libraries or buy from bookstores.

Among other things, many purged their files of patrons’ records.

“We’ve put up signs letting library patrons know that we don’t keep any more lists on who uses our computers and so on… but that the FBI can come in and do certain things, and we aren’t allowed to tell them they’re doing them, and please be aware that’s the way the law is right now,” said Mary Kasamatsu, Waterbury Library director.

The American Civil Liberties Union and several Islamic groups sued the federal government in July over the Patriot Act. More than 150 local governments – including the state of Vermont- have passed resolutions opposing the law as a threat to constitutional rights.

Sanders has introduced a bill that would restore protections for library and bookstore users. Librarians are grateful to Sanders for collecting support for his measure, which has more than 130 Democrat and Republican sponsors, said Magi.

Sanders was nominated by librarians from Vermont and around the country for the Library Journal award, which featured him in its Monday issue.

The magazine is published 20 times a year and has an online edition.