Free Speech Champions Give Talk on First Amendment Fights

On September 28, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) co-sponsored a panel of eight First Amendment advocates at the National Press Club in Washington, DC as part of its celebration of Banned Books Week.  “We want to say today that as readers and writers, as booksellers and librarians that government actions should expand not shrink the private space in which journalism and literature flourish,” Ron Chernow, president of the PEN America Center, said in his introductory remarks.  “At a time of undoubted national peril, we need more not less information …  This is the time, however awkward, however problematic, however uncomfortable, when we need those lonely voices of dissent even more than the chorus of approval.”   

The speakers discussed their experiences with government attempts to limit free speech. They included Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter James Risen, who was threatened with prosecution under the Espionage Act for exposing the warrantless surveillance program carried out by the National Security Agency; journalist and author Mark Feldstein, who was visited at home by FBI agents demanding the return of classified documents that are part of journalist Jack Anderson’s papers, which Feldstein is using to write a book; Brian Ross and Richard Esposito, ABC World News reporters who broke stories on secret CIA prisons and harsh interrogation techniques and who later learned the government had searched their telephone records in an effort to identify their sources; and Barbara Bailey, George Christian, Peter Chase, and Janet Nocek, the four "John Doe" librarians from Connecticut who successfully challenged an FBI attempt to gain patron information using a National Security Letter (NSL). 

The program was sponsored by ABFFE and the Campaign for Reader Privacy, a joint initiative of the American Library Association, the American Booksellers Association, the Association of American Publishers (AAP), and PEN American Center that seeks to protect the freedom of all Americans to read what they choose without the government's knowledge or interference.  To hear the complete program, moderated by AAP President and former U.S. Representative Patricia Schroeder, click here.  Please note that it may take a few minutes to play, as it is over an hour.

ABFFE Files Amicus in PATRIOT Act Case

The fight to restore the safeguards for reader privacy that were eliminated by the USA PATRIOT Act returned to court in September when a federal judge was asked to again strike down a section of the law that authorizes the FBI to issue National Security Letters (NSLs) to bookstores, libraries and Internet service providers (ISPs) in terrorism investigations. On September 29, ABFFE joined the American Library Association and others in filing an amicus brief in federal district court in New York that supports the fight being waged by an unnamed ISP and the American Civil Liberties Union.

“The re-authorization of the PATRIOT Act in March did not end the fight for reader privacy,” ABFFE President Chris Finan said. “We are continuing to urge Congress and the courts to fully restore the privacy of bookstore and library records.” 

The amicus brief filed by ABFFE and the ALA argues that recent changes in the PATRIOT Act do not go far enough.  Although NSLs can now be challenged in court, the government can demand that the hearing be closed even to the plantiff’s attorney.  In addition, while the recipient of an NSL may now request the lifting of the gag order that accompanies it, the government can oppose the request if it believes that national security requires it. The court is required to accept the government’s claim that continued secrecy is necessary.  

To read more about the NSL case, click here.

Bookstores Celebrate 25^th Anniversary of Banned Books Week

Bookstores around the country helped promote the freedom to read by participating in the 25^th annual celebration of Banned Books Week last month.  Many booksellers promoted Banned Books Week through displays highlighting books that have been challenged this year or in the past.  "We did a display in the front window using ABFFE materials and using materials from the [Fall 2006] Banned Books [Book Sense] Top Ten Picks and the American Library Association list," said Will Peters, manager of Annie Bloom's Books in Portland, Oregon.  Peters said that Banned Books Week is "important for a number of reasons.  Books are constantly being challenged.... It brings awareness to this."  Jack Buckley of Ninth Street Book Shop in Wilmington, Delaware said his store had a window display, which was designed by his wife. "We’re a big supporter of Banned Books Week.  We now have people who actually window shop! It's very effective. We display books from previous years and then add in books that were challenged in the past year, which we highlight in the middle of the window."

ABFFE, a sponsor of Banned Books Week, encourages bookstores to participate by offering a free online Banned Books Week Handbook.   In addition, for the first time, ABFFE provided limited edition FREADOM gift cards to help bookstores promote the weeklong event.  The card featured an illustration of the Statue of Liberty created by Roger Roth for the book, The American Story: 100 True Tales from American History (Jennifer Armstrong, Random House Children's.)  When customers bought the gift card, 10 percent of the activation sale was automatically donated to ABFFE.  ABFFE also provided “FREADOM Isn’t Free!” donation boxes for booksellers to place on their counters during Banned Books Week.  Over 150 bookstores displayed the donation box during Banned Books Week.

To read more, click here.