Free Expression

With a number of the provisions of the USA Patriot Act set to expire at the end of the year, both the Senate and House Judiciary committees are expected to begin hearings on the USA Patriot Act next week. The House Judiciary Committee hearings are scheduled to start on Wednesday, April 6, and the Senate Committee on the Judiciary hearings are expected to commence on Tuesday, April 5.

The final phase of the Campaign for Reader Privacy (CRP) -- a nationwide grassroots petition drive calling for an amendment to Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act to ensure the privacy of bookstore and library records -- has begun. The centerpiece of CRP, which is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, the American Library Association, the Association of American Publishers, and PEN American Center, is a petition drive that is being conducted in bookstores and libraries and on the Web at www.readerprivacy.org.

In this March 14, 2005, editorial, the Seattle Times urges Congress to vote in favor of Congressman Bernie Sanders' Freedom to Read Protection Act to protect the privacy of bookstore and library patrons.

Try again, protect libraries, bookstores

A Vermont congressman's desire to protect the records of library patrons and book buyers is worth another try.

On March 23, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced that it had joined forces with several conservative organizations "to fix the most extreme provisions of the Patriot Act," many of which are scheduled to expire at the end of 2005.

On March 23, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) announced a clearance sale on its limited edition Harry Potter T-shirts and buttons. 

The following is an editorial that appeared in Macon, Georgia's Macon Telegraph on Monday, March 21.

A legislative and grassroots effort is underway to amend a portion of the Patriot Act that allows unchecked government access to citizens' private records, just as the Bush administration is calling for reauthorization of the entire act.