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Banned Books Week
Celebrates the Freedom to Read
Acclaimed artist Chuck Close's Banned Books Posters, above, are on display throughout New York City, including a prominent wall display on Avenue A and 11th Street.
On the surface, at no time in our nation's history have we had access to more books, information and reading material. Our bookstores and libraries feature sumptuous feasts of books on every subject imaginable. The most intimately held government secrets are fodder for current affairs and history books. And the most vociferous critiques of our officials are soon bound up and in bookstores for everyone in America to read.
But that's on the surface.
An insidious threat has emerged in recent years on one especially important frontier: our libraries.
Since the 9/11 attacks, librarians and library patrons are learning just how much unchecked power our governments have obtained through the USA PATRIOT Act. The American Civil Liberties Union, the American Library Association, and other groups are publicizing the government's sweeping new powers to spy on Americans. The ACLU sought to hold the Justice Department accountable by insisting that it be more open about how the USA PATRIOT Act is being used.
Of particular concern is Section 215, which gives the FBI license to snoop in anyone's library records and other personal information. Section 215 allows the FBI to order any person or entity to turn over "any tangible things," so long as the FBI "specifies" that the order is "for an authorized investigation . . . to protect against international terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities." Section 215 vastly expands the FBI's power to spy on anyone living in the United States.
The ACLU filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in October 2002 asking a federal court to order the Department of Justice to account for its use of the extraordinary new surveillance powers granted to it by Congress. The ACLU and the Electronic Privacy Information Center filed the lawsuit as attorneys for their organizations and for the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression and the Freedom to Read Foundation, citing concerns that the new surveillance laws threaten the First Amendment-protected activities of librarians, library patrons, booksellers and their customers, and investigative journalists.
In July 2003, the ACLU filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Section 215.
As described in the ACLU report Unpatriotic Acts: The FBI's Power to Rifle Through Your Records and Personal Belongings Without Telling You, Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act violates constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures as well as the rights to freedom of speech and association. The law:
- Violates the Fourth Amendment by allowing the FBI to search and seize records or personal belongings without a warrant, without showing probable cause - and without ever notifying even innocent people of the searches;
- Violates the First Amendment because it allows the FBI to easily obtain information about a person's reading habits, religious affiliations, Internet surfing and other expressive activities that would be "chilled" by the threat of investigation;
- Violates the First Amendment by imposing a "gag order" that prohibits those served with Section 215 orders from telling anyone -- ever -- that the FBI demanded information, even if the information is not tied to a particular suspect and poses no risk to national security.
Libraries are at the center of the struggle to preserve everyone's freedom to access a diversity of ideas, information and opinions. Banned Books Week, from Sept. 25 to Oct. 2, calls attention to the wealth of creative expression that is stifled when libraries are forced to remove some books from their shelves.
When a Web site is blocked on a library computer or a book is taken off the library shelves, it is easy to see how your freedom to access information is being compromised. But other threats to our freedoms in the library can occur in secret. When you check out a book and visit a Web site, do you know if somebody else is watching?
A year ago, after ridiculing the ALA and ACLU's concerns as "baseless hysteria," Ashcroft relented to demands and declassified information about how Section 215 is being used. Advances against censorship and in the defense of privacy can only be accomplished when individuals are vigilant and speak out to protect their rights. The ACLU encourages Americans to mark Banned Books Week by telling their elected officials to preserve our right to privacy and keep censorship out of our libraries.
Banned Books Week, which has been observed annually since 1982, reminds Americans not to take for granted their precious freedom to read. The ACLU and the American Library Association (ALA) are urging Americans to "Elect to Read a Banned Book," in honor of this year's Banned Books Week. Bookstores and libraries across the nation will help "get out the vote" with displays and readings from books - the Bible, "Little Red Riding Hood," and John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" - that have been banned or threatened throughout history.
In Chicago, for example, the ALA and other local groups will co-sponsor a public awareness program on free speech. "Outspoken: Chicago's Free Speech Tradition," will kick-off with a readout on Saturday, Oct. 2, which will feature local celebrities reading from favorite banned books and an open mike for audience participation. ALA President Carol Brey-Casiano will keynote the event. In the Lone Star State, the ACLU of Texas is sponsoring and participating in several readings of banned and challenged books during Banned Books Week.
Celebrities have joined together to show their support for Banned Books Week by participating in spoken word and musical performances at the ACLU Freedom Concert | 
