Vermont Congressman Bernie Sanders will travel to BookExpo America to brief booksellers on his fight to restore the protections for the privacy of bookstore and library records that were swept away by the Patriot Act. Last month, at the request of Vermont booksellers and librarians, Sanders introduced the Freedom to Read Protection Act (H.R. 1157) to end the threat that an FBI agent could secretly request and serve a subpoena for bookstore and library records. Under the Patriot Act, the FBI can get any records it believes are relevant to a foreign intelligence investigation, including the records of people who are not suspected of committing a crime. In addition, the bookseller or librarian is forbidden to reveal the fact that they have released this information.

Sanders will speak during an ABFFE program on Saturday, May 31, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. The program, "Terrorism, Privacy and First Amendment Rights," will also feature David Cole, a Georgetown Law School professor, and Gloria Feldt, the president of Planned Parenthood. The author of "Terrorism and the Constitution" (New Press), Cole is an expert on the Patriot Act and previous anti-terrorism laws that have undermined the exercise of First Amendment rights. Feldt will discuss the important role that privacy has played in the growth of civil liberties in the United States. Her new book is "Behind Every Choice Is a Story" (University of North Texas Press), a collection of letters by patients, teachers, doctors, teenagers, mothers and others about love, sex, pregnancy and family.

"Terrorism, Privacy and First Amendment Rights" will be held in Room 309 of the South Building. It is co-sponsored by the Freedom to Read Foundation and the Association of American Publishers.

In the first legal challenge to a restriction on the use of Harry Potter books in the public schools, a federal judge has ordered a school district in western Arkansas to return J.K. Rowling's books to the open shelves of its libraries. A student and her parents sued the Cedarville school board last year after it removed the books in response to a complaint that the books show "that there are 'good witches' and 'good magic'" and that they teach "parents/teachers/rules are stupid and something to be ignored."

On Tuesday, Judge Jimm L. Hendren ruled that there was no evidence to support the school board's claim that the books were encouraging disobedience and threatening the orderly operation of the schools. He concluded that the majority of the board members voted to "restrict access to the books because of their shared belief that the books promote a particular religion." This violated the First Amendment rights of the students. "Regardless of the personal distaste with which these individuals regard 'witchcraft,' it is not properly within their power and authority as members of defendant's school board to prevent the students at Cedarville from reading about it," Hendren said.>

ABFFE filed a friend of the court brief in the case. It was joined by Judy Blume, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Association of American Publishers, the Association of Booksellers for Children, the Center for First Amendment Rights, the Children's Book Council, Feminists for Free Expression, the Freedom to Read Foundation, the National Coalition Against Censorship, Peacefire, PEN American Center, People for the American Way Foundation, the Student Press Law Center, and Washington Area Lawyers for the Arts.

On Monday, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius courageously vetoed a bill that threatened to deprive the University of Kansas of millions of dollars in state funding because a student complained that Professor Dennis Dailey had shown "obscene" videos during a course on human sexuality. The university community rallied behind Dailey, who has has been teaching his highly popular class for over 20 years. The University Council, made up of students, faculty and staff, unanimously approved a resolution affirming the principle that decisions regarding curricular matters should be made only by the university. It pointed out that there are procedures in place for handling complaints about the material used in any course.

ABFFE joined the American Association of University Professors and other national groups in urging the governor to veto the bill as a threat to academic freedom.