Amy Long, Program Assistant

ABFFE
275 Seventh Avenue
Suite 1504
New York, NY 10001
Phone: (212) 587-4025
Fax: (212) 587-2436
24-Hour Hotline: (800) 727-4203

 

ABFFE filed an amicus brief in the most important free speech case involving books to reach the U.S. Supreme Court in 20 years,  urging the Court to overturn a law banning the depiction of animal abuse. Under the law, a bookseller could be sent to jail for five years for selling Earnest Hemingway's classic book about bullfighting, Death in the Afternoon.
 

The fight to restore the protections for reader privacy eliminated by the Patriot Act resumed at the end of 2009 as Congress again faced the necessity of re-authorizing Section 215, which gives the government the power to secretly search bookstores and libraries whenever it wants.  ABFFE is urging Congress to limit bookstore and library searches to the records of people who are suspects of terrorism or espionage.
 

ABFFE celebrated the final defeat of a federal law censoring the Internet. ABFFE was a plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging the Child Online Protection Act because it banned the display of material that is "harmful to minors" on commercial Web sites and could have applied to images of book jackets and excerpts on bookstore Web sites.
 

ABFFE joined in the successful effort to lift the federal government's ban on the Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan, who was denied entry into the United States to take a teaching job at the University of Notre Dame because he had contributed to a charity that gave money to Hamas.
 

The Kids Right to Read Project, a joint initiative of ABFFE and the National Coalition Against Censorship, continued to fight book censorship at the local level. Since its launch in 2007, the Project has opposed challenges to 250 titles in 31 states.
 

ABFFE provides resources on free expression for booksellers, including a model statement to help booksellers proclaim their support for free speech and reader privacy. The statement entitled “To Our Customers” explains why booksellers believe it is important to carry a wide diversity of books, including works that some people may find offensive. It also promises customers that the bookstore will protect the privacy of their book purchases. "To Our Customers" is available in two versions here.           

ABFFE operates a First Amendment hotline 24 hours a day, seven days a week to assist you whenever you confront an emergency, whether it is the result of a customer complaint or a police demand. If you ever need an experienced First Amendment lawyer, we can help you find one.

ABFFE is the bookseller's voice in all free speech controversies involving books and other written material.  We alerted booksellers to the dangers posed by the USA Patriot Act and helped them communicate their concerns to Congress.  ABFFE also opposes efforts to ban books in public schools and libraries and files amicus briefs in cases challenging school censorship.

ABFFE helps booksellers communicate the importance of free speech to their customers, building support for First Amendment rights that will be critically important when censorship controversies arise.  ABFFE is a sponsor of Banned Books Week, the only national celebration of the freedom to read.

ABFFE ensures that booksellers play a role in all important First Amendment cases.

Banned Books Week bracelet.

Autographed copy of ABFFE President Chris Finan's From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act: A History of Free Speech in America.

A ready-to-frame statement, "To Our Customers," that booksellers can display in their stores, declaring their commitment to protect the First Amendment and privacy rights of their customers.

A FREADOM window decal, bumber sticker and pin.

The ABFFE handbook, Censorship and First Amendment Rights: A Primer.

The ABFFE training video, "Scenes from a Bookstore: Free Speech Vignettes."

ABFFE UPDATE, our monthly e-mail newsletter.
 

ABFFE also offers $75 Premier Memberships, which include all of the above excluding the Banned Books Week bracelet; $50 General Membership includes all of the above excluding the Banned Books Week Bracelet and Chris Finan's book.