Free Expression

 The 29th annual celebration of Banned Books Week set a record for the number of readings from banned books and brought a successful conclusion to a three-week auction of children’s art by the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression.

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With the start of Banned Books Week on Saturday, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression’s auction of original children’s book art will enter its final week on eBay.

Readers across the U.S. and around the world are demonstrating their support for free speech by participating in a virtual read-out of banned and challenged books that culminates in the 30th annual celebration of Banned Books Week, from September 24 – October 1.

On Friday, September 9, ABFFE launched a three-week online auction on eBay, featuring more than 70 works of art by leading children’s book  illustrators, including Peter Brown, Susan Jeffers, Wendell Minor, Adam Rex, and Paul O. Zelinsky.

Booksellers around the country are responding enthusiastically to the Internet Read-Out that is the focus of this year’s Banned Books Week, September 24 - October 1. Bookstores of all sizes are planning events where they’ll create videos of customers reading from their favorite banned books.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression has released tools to help booksellers participate in the Internet Read-Out that will occur during Banned Books Week, from September 24 - October 1.

Booksellers and their customers can proclaim their support for free speech by joining a worldwide read-out of banned and challenged books on the Internet during this year’s Banned Books Week, from September 24 - October 1.

This year, for the first time, readers from around the world will be able to participate virtually in Banned Books Week. During the September 24 – October 1 celebration, readers will be able to proclaim the virtues of their favorite banned books by posting videos of themselves reading excerpts to a dedicated YouTube channel.

The Federal District Court in Anchorage, Alaska, has permanently barred enforcement of an Alaska statute that violates the First Amendment right of free speech, saying it threatened to reduce all speech on the Internet “to only what is fit for children.”

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a California law banning video games with violent themes and images, saying that the state’s attempt to create a new category of First Amendment regulation for minors was “unprecedented and mistaken.” 

ABFFE President Chris Finan will receive the 2011 Freedom to Read Foundation Roll of Honor Award at the American Library Association’s national conference in New Orleans on Friday, June 25.

At a lively and thought-provoking BookExpo America panel, two bestselling authors and two nationally noted free speech advocates presented an overview and a frontline account of the tactics and trends of contemporary book banning.

ABA and other members of the Campaign for Reader Privacy expressed disappointment at last week’s decision by Congress to reauthorize expiring provisions of the USA Patriot Act without restoring safeguards to protect the privacy of bookstore and library records.

Chris Finan, president of the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, long-time member of the Media Coalition, and member and chair of the Board of the National Coalition Against Censorship, has been named the recipient of the American Library Association’s 2011 Freedom to Read Foundation  Roll of Honor Award.