BTW News Briefs

Ten San Francisco independent bookstores are joining together to celebrate the Fourth of July by offering tax-free sales for July 4, 5, and 6. Each store will also celebrate independence in its own way -- with readings, in-store promotions, and food, among other things. The stores noted in a press release that this was their way of expressing appreciation to San Franciscans for their loyalty to independent bookstores.

The stores participating in the sale are: The Booksmith, Borderlands Bookstore, Browser Books, Builders Booksource San Francisco, Christopher's Books, A Clean Well Lighted Place for Books, Fields Book Store, Get Lost Travel Books, Green Apple Books and Music, and Modern Times Bookstore.

Additionally, the stores will be holding a raffle. Customers that visit three of the 10 stores in a two-week period will qualify for a drawing to win $500 in gift certificates. --DG

Two beloved authors of children's books have recently died: Robert McCloskey and Joan Lowery Nixon. McCloskey was known for the enormously popular children's classics Make Way for Ducklings and Blueberries for Sal. He wrote and illustrated eight children's picture books. Nixon wrote mostly children's mysteries. An incredibly prolific writer, she wrote over one hundred books.

Sara Ann Freed, an award-winning editor of crime fiction, died on Wednesday. Freed was 57. She was editor-in-chief of Mysterious Press and senior editor at Warner Books. Writers she edited include Marcia Muller, Margaret Maron, James Patterson, and Kate White. --KS

On June 17, a federal judge banned the sale of Irwin Schiff's book, The Federal Mafia: How the Federal Government Illegally Imposes and Unlawfully Collects Federal Income Taxes (self-published by Freedom Press), a book that contends that paying income taxes is voluntary. The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada (ACLUN) argued that the ruling improperly censors the book, as reported by the New York Times.

In March, U.S. District Court Judge Lloyd D. George placed a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the sale and distribution of Irwin Schiff's book. The judge's ruling came after the Tax Division of the Justice Department brought suit against Schiff, claiming the book would incite citizens to break the law. In early April, the ACLUN filed an amicus brief in support of Schiff's right to sell the book and was later joined by the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the Association of American Publishers, the Freedom to Read Foundation, and the PEN American Center.

In the 35-page opinion, Judge Lloyd D. George of Federal District Court in Las Vegas wrote that the First Amendment does not shield criminal conduct in tax schemes. The Times quoted Allen Lichtenstein, general counsel of the ACLUN as "looking forward to arguing the case before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals…. We argued that the book is not commercial speech, cannot be banned as false commercial speech, and does not meet any other criteria for censorship." –DG

FCC Suspension of Rules Concerning Filtering Requirements Remains in Effect

The Wireline Competition Bureau announced that the Federal Communication Commission's current suspension of rules concerning libraries' compliance with the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) filtering requirements remains in effect until the Commission acts, or the recent Supreme Court decision, U.S. v. American Library Association, becomes effective.

On June 23 the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion on CIPA, reversing the decision of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, which had found CIPA unconstitutional as it applies to libraries. The Supreme Court found that CIPA does not induce libraries to violate the Constitution because public libraries' use of Internet filtering software will be disabled at the request of any adult user, and, therefore, does not violate their patron's First Amendment rights.

Under the Supreme Court's rules, its judgment in U.S. v. American Library Association will become effective no earlier than July 18. --KS

Courtney Muller recently resigned as executive director of "New York is Book Country," it was reported in the July 2003 issue of Publishing Trends. Muller is rejoining Reed Exhibitions as divisional vice president. PT noted that she would continue to consult with the staff and the board of NYBC through the 25th anniversary events in the fall. --DG