[2] The FBI claimed that one of the major reasons this program was initiated was because hostile intelligence agents had been able to find some information that could be dangerous to the security of the United States.
This point was illuminated by the report that a Soviet employee of the United Nations had been able to recruit a college student from Queens to obtain information at the library that was described as "sensitive.
This led to the opposition of the program by the NYLA, a long time New York Congressman Major R. Owens, and the ALA and resulted in widespread outrage within the field.
In October 1987 the ALA's Intellectual Freedom Committee released a statement that explained the threat of this program, and urged libraries not to violate their ethical obligation to protect patrons' rights by providing information to the FBI.
Congressman Don Edwards who was the Subcommittee Chairman observed when opening the hearing that libraries "...are intended to be havens for scholarly work and quiet relaxation," and that their records "should not be available to intelligence agencies just for the asking.