Free Expression

Politics and business mixed on Saturday, June 5, at BookExpo America, as Day 3 featured a political lunch, an update on the Campaign for Reader Privacy, and a presentation of petitions to Senator Richard Durbin of Illinois, as well as ABA's comprehensive seminar exploring ways to improve profits.

On Friday, May 21, 10 Republican senators, led by Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ), introduced a bill (S. 2476) that would repeal the sunset clauses of the USA Patriot Act, essentially making the entire bill -- including Section 215 -- permanent, as reported by Secrecy News. While civil liberties groups and some members of the Senate decried the bill, many believe that the senators lack the support necessary to pass the bill.

On Tuesday, May 25, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE), the American Library Association (ALA), and the Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) filed a brief in support of an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) challenge to Section 505 of the USA Patriot Act.

Though booksellers should continue to collect signatures for the Campaign for Reader Privacy (www.readerprivacy.com), ABA is asking booksellers to send in all signed petitions as soon as possible, so that the signatures can be counted and included in its CRP presentation during BookExpo America. (Petitions should be mailed to ABA, Restore Reader Privacy, Attn.: Oren Teicher, 828 S. Broadway, Tarrytown, NY 10591.) Every signature counts!

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) will have something for everyone at this year's BookExpo America (BEA). Events range from a panel on free expression issues to award-winning comedy to ABFFE's ever-popular silent auction.

On Monday, May 24, at a ceremony at Chelsea Piers in New York City, two women who helped organize a grassroots campaign to amend Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act will be among those honored with the Playboy Foundation's 2004 Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award. Trina Magi, past president of the Vermont Library Association (VLA), and Linda Ramsdell, owner of the Galaxy Bookshop in Hardwick, Vermont, will receive the First Amendment Award in the field of Education. "I'm excited and honored that we're recognized," said Ramsdell.

Limited edition button (above) and T-shirt (below) that urge people to "Fight for Harry Potter and Free Speech for Kids!"

On May 12, the American Bookse

Booksellers should note that phase one of the Campaign for Reader Privacy (CRP) (http://www.readerprivacy.com/) petition drive will soon culminate with a CRP presentation during BookExpo America, which will be held from June 2 - 6 at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago.

The first phase of the Campaign for Reader Privacy (www.readerprivacy.com/) -- a nationwide grassroots petition drive calling for an amendment to Section 215 of the USA Patriot to ensure the privacy of bookstore and library records -- continues through the weekend of May 15. ABA has been asking booksellers to send in signed petitions whenever they have collected a few hundred signatures, and then on May 17 to mail in all remaining petitions.

The grassroots effort to amend Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act continues to gain momentum. Last week, Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) called on President George W.

After Betsy Burton of the Kings English in Salt Lake City wrote the following opinion piece, which appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune, the store was swamped with customers who wanted to sign the Campaign for Reader Privacy petition calling for an amendment of Section 215 of the Patriot Act.

On April 14, Senator Orrin Hatch's Senate Judiciary Committee field hearing on the USA Patriot Act in Salt Lake City made for strange bedfellows, as liberals, libertarians, and conservatives joined together to voice their concerns over a half-dozen provisions in the Patriot Act, as reported in the Salt Lake Tribune. One such provision is Section 215, which gives law enforcement officials broad authority to demand that libraries or bookstores turn over books, records, papers, and documents.

The name might be Off the Beaten Path Bookstore, but Leslie Ryan wanted to make sure that the residents of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, didn't have to wander too far to find out about the Campaign for Reader Privacy (CRP). To help promote CRP -- a nationwide grassroots petition drive to raise awareness about the threat to the privacy of bookstore and library records posed by the USA Patriot Act -- the store ran two quarter-page ads in its local newspaper. "It was quite successful," Ryan told BTW in a recent interview.

At this year's BookExpo America, the Book Industry Foundation will be selling two book-related posters based on cartoons featured in The Complete Cartoons of The New Yorker, coming from Black Dog & Leventhal in September. Proceeds from sales of the posters will benefit the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) and the Association of American Publishers' "Get Caught Reading" campaign.

Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) has planned a Senate Judiciary Committee field hearing on the USA Patriot Act for April 14, at 10:00 a.m. MST in the Moot Court Room of the University of Utah law school in Salt Lake City, Utah. The hearing is open to the public.