ABFFE,
Seven Groups Announce Formation of "Muggles for Harry Potter"
ABFFE yesterday joined seven national organizations
in issuing the following press release:
For Immediate Release: "Muggles for Harry
Potter" To Fight Censorship
NEW YORK, N.Y., March 7, 2000--Eight groups
representing booksellers, librarians, publishers, teachers, writers and citizens today
announced the formation of a national organization to fight efforts to restrict access to
J.K. Rowling's bestselling Harry Potter books. The group, Muggles for Harry Potter,
www.mugglesforharrypotter.org, is already assisting parents, students and teachers in
Zeeland, Michigan, in their attempt to overturn restrictions on the use of the books in
the schools there. "Muggles for Harry Potter is fighting for the right of students
and teachers to use the best books that are available for children, even when some parents
object," Christopher Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free
Expression, said. "The Potter books are helping turn videogame players into readers.
We can't allow censorship to interfere with that."
The other sponsors of Muggles for Harry
Potter are the Freedom to Read Foundation, the Association of American Publishers, the
National Council of Teachers of English, the Children's Book Council, the Association of
Booksellers for Children, the National Coalition Against Censorship and PEN American
Center.
Although the Potter books have become a
publishing sensation, selling more than 18 million copies, they are also the most
challenged books in the country, according to the American Library Association. Challenges
to the use of the Potter books in the schools have been reported in 13 states. The most
common complaint is that the books portray witchcraft in a positive light. (The son of a
wizard and a witch, Harry studies magic at Hogwarts, a famous school for wizard children.)
While most of these challenges are still pending or have been resolved without censorship,
the superintendent of schools in Zeeland has ordered teachers to stop reading the books
aloud in class.
The school district now requires parental
permission to borrow the books from the library or use them for book reports. The
superintendent has also declared that the district will not order any future books in the
series.
Judith F. Krug, director of the American
Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom and executive director of the
Freedom to Read Foundation, said her office had received unconfirmed reports that schools
in Colorado and Kansas had imposed similar restrictions. One of the purposes of Muggles
for Harry Potter is to encourage Potter fans to report censorship efforts in their areas
so that they can be fought, she said. Muggles for Harry Potter has created a web site to
enroll members and help disseminate information, www.mugglesforharrypotter.org. The site
includes background information about the Harry Potter controversy generally and the
Zeeland situation in particular.
The new organization's name is taken from
the Potter books. "Muggles" are non-magical folk who are for the most part
oblivious to the fact that they coexist in the world with wizards and witches. Muggles for
Harry Potter are obviously different than most muggles. They not only know about Harry:
they support him.
Muggles for Harry Potter
Buttons A Hot Seller in ABFFE Online Store
ABFFE members are responding
enthusiastically to ABFFE's new Muggles for Harry Potter button. Right now, the buttons
are being sold only to ABFFE members, who are also receiving a 25 per cent discount. Next
week, they will go on sale to the general public. Buttons are being sold in 100-button
bags at a price of $35 per bag, including shipping. A maximum of two bags can be ordered
at this time. Reserve your Harry Potter buttons now through the ABFFE Online Store, or fax your
order to ABFFE at (212) 587-2436. Be sure to include credit card information.
Previously in ABFFE Update
