Free Expression

ABA and its co-sponsors in the Campaign for Reader Privacy -- the American Library Association, the Association of American Publishers, and PEN American Center -- today warned that final action on the reauthorization of the Patriot Act could come only days after Congress returns from its August recess.

With House and Senate conferees scheduled to meet in the fall to reconcile their two very different bills regarding Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act, on Monday, August 8, Reps. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), C.L. "Butch" Otter (R-ID), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Ron Paul (R-TX), and Tom Udall (D-CO) urged House colleagues to encourage House conferees to resist attempts to weaken the safeguards for reader privacy in S. 1389.

To help booksellers prepare for Banned Books Week (September 24 - October 1), here is a preview of the Fall 2005 Book Sense Banned Books Top Ten. The Banned Books pads are being sent to stores in the August Red Box and will arrive in time for booksellers to incorporate the list in their stores' Banned Books Week displays. A PDF of the flier is also available on BookWeb.

On Monday, August 1, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) and other groups representing libraries, authors, publishers, and professors filed an amicus brief in support of an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) lawsuit challenging the FBI's authority to issue National Security Letters (NSLs) under 18 U.S.C. 2709 of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986.

This week, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) launched a campaign to encourage booksellers to participate in Banned Books Week, which will be held this year from Sep

On Friday, July 29, the final day before its summer recess, the Senate unanimously approved a bill that adds to the USA Patriot Act many of the safeguards for reader privacy sought by the book and library community since the passage of the law in 2001. The move set the stage for a showdown when Congress reconvenes in the fall and very different House and Senate bills go to a conference committee for reconciliation.

As Congress heads toward its August recess, the Campaign for Reader Privacy (CRP) is preparing for the culmination of its efforts to ensure that protections for the privacy of bookstore and library records are included in the final version of the USA Patriot Act reauthorization bill. As part of that effort, ABA is strongly encouraging booksellers to continue to collect customer signatures on petitions supporting reader privacy.

For free speech and civil liberties groups fighting to amend Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act and restore readers' right to privacy, the events of the last few days were a classic case of good news, bad news. In the Senate's version of the USA Patriot Act reauthorization bill, significant progress was made in correcting and clarifying 215. Meanwhile, in the House, the Republican-led Rules Committee rebuffed efforts to introduce Rep.

The following editorial originally appeared in the July 19, 2005, edition of the Detroit Free Press.

As federal lawmakers wrangle this week over guidelines for debate of the Patriot Act, they should make room for the broadest conversation possible.

On Wednesday, July 13, the Campaign for Reader Privacy -- which is comprised of the American Booksellers Association, PEN American Center, the American Library Association, and the Association of American Publishers -- criticized the House Judiciary Committee regarding its failure to adopt Rep. Jerrold Nadler's (D-NY) amendment to a bill reauthorizing the USA Patriot Act. The organizations said that Nadler's amendment would have restored crucial safeguards for the privacy of library and bookstore records that were eliminated by Section 215 of the Act.

Friday, July 15, is the deadline for the Book Sense Banned Books Week Top Ten.

In the wake of recent events, "building support for First Amendment rights is particularly urgent right now," said American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) President Chris Finan, who in a recent letter to booksellers encouraged their participation in Banned Books Week, which will run this year from Saturday, September 24, through Saturday, October 1.

Just a week after Rep. Bernie Sanders' Freedom to Read Amendment to the Commerce, Justice, State (CJS) Appropriations Bill passed a House vote, Jack Buckley of Ninth Street Book Store in Wilmington, Delaware, recalled first speaking to his congressional representative, Mike Castle (R-DE), about amending Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act.

On Wednesday, June 15, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Rep. Bernie Sanders' (I-VT) Freedom to Read Amendment to the Commerce, Justice, State (CJS) Appropriations Bill by a vote of 238 - 187, sending a clear message to the Bush administration that Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act needs to be amended to protect Americans' right to privacy. The amendment, which was co-sponsored by Reps.

On Thursday, June 9, Sam Weller's Zion Bookstore and The King's English, both of Salt Lake City, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE), and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Utah were part of a broad-based group of organizations that filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Utah challenging the constitutionality of a Utah law that seeks to restrict children's access to material on the Internet.