ABFFE Urges Booksellers to Display Updated Free Speech Pledge

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) is urging booksellers to display an updated and newly redesigned statement proclaiming the bookstore's support for free speech and reader privacy. The statement, which is titled "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.

"There are many good reasons for making a clear statement of store policy on First Amendment issues," said ABFFE President Chris Finan. "It makes the point that one of the most important roles of a bookstore is to protect free speech. It helps build support for the store and for free speech. It also can be useful in dealing with customers who may be offended by a particular book by reminding them that bookstores exist to serve the entire community."

"To Our Customers" is available on the ABFFE Web site, www.abffe.com, in two versions that can be downloaded in PDF format in either color or black and white. One version superimposes the statement on a photograph of a child peeking into a book. The other brackets the statement between a border of book images.

"To Our Customers" is an updated version of a free speech pledge that ABFFE has been distributing since its founding in 1990. The statement now includes language from the model privacy statement that ABFFE began recommending in 1998. The model privacy statement was published as part of an ABFFE pamphlet, "Protecting Customer Privacy in Bookstores," which provides advice about handling customer records. A copy of the pamphlet may be ordered from ABFFE by sending an e-mail to Caitlin Delohery.