The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) Thursday hailed the introduction of federal legislation that removes a threat to the privacy of bookstore and library records created by the U.S.A. Patriot Act. The introduction of H.R. 1157, the Freedom to Read Protection Act of 2003, was announced at a Washington press conference Thursday by Congressman Bernie Sanders (I-VT). "While booksellers strongly support efforts to fight terrorism, the Patriot Act gives federal authorities virtually unchecked authority to search our customers' records and raises concern that government is monitoring what people are reading," ABFFE President Chris Finan said. "The Freedom to Read Protection Act will restore faith in the confidentiality of these records without harming national security."

Rep. Sanders agreed to introduce the Freedom to Read Protection Act after Vermont booksellers and librarians organized a letter-writing campaign last fall that targeted members of the state's Congressional delegation. Two of the organizers of the campaign, Linda Ramsdell, owner of the Galaxy Bookshop in Hardwick, Vermont, and Trina Magi, a former president of the Vermont Library Association, spoke at the press conference today. Ramsdell is the president of the New England Booksellers Association.

The Patriot Act amended the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to give the FBI vastly expanded authority to search business records, including the records of bookstores and libraries: the FBI may request the records secretly; it is not required to prove that there is "probable cause" to believe the person whose records are being sought has committed a crime; and, the bookseller or librarian who receives an order is prohibited from revealing it to anyone except those whose help is needed to produce the records.

The Freedom to Read Protection Act bars the FBI from seeking "personally identifiable information concerning a patron of a bookseller or library" under Section 501 of FISA.

Book-TV on C-SPAN 2 will broadcast the press conference announcing the introduction of the Freedom to Read Protection Act. It will air tomorrow at 10:30p.m.; Sunday at 7:30 p.m. and Monday at 5:30 a.m. All times are Eastern Standard.

ABFFE, a dozen national groups and author Judy Blume Monday asked a federal judge to return J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books to the library shelves of a western Arkansas school district. The Cedarville school board censored the Potter books in June when a parent complained that they show "that there are 'good witches' and 'good magic.'" She also claimed that the books teach that "parents/teachers/rules are stupid and are something to be ignored." The books are kept on a restricted shelf. Students must have their parents' permission to borrow them.

The school board ignored the recommendation of a committee of students, parents and librarians that voted 15-0 to continue to permit unrestricted access. In July, one of the parents on the committee joined his wife and son in filing a lawsuit that accuses the school board of violating the First Amendment right to free speech and to receive information. Attorneys for the family today submitted a motion for summary judgment, urging the judge to make a decision based on the facts that have been presented in documents submitted to the court. The national groups filed an amicus brief supporting the motion. The judge can either grant the request or order a hearing.

This is the first legal challenge to a restriction on the use of Harry Potter books in a public school. For the last four years, the Potter books have been the most frequently challenged books in the country, according to the American Library Association.

Click here to read the brief.