ABFFE to Help Stores Shoot Banned Books Videos

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression [1] wants to help booksellers participate in the Internet read-out that will be the centerpiece of this year’s Banned Books Week, from September 29 - October 6.

More than 800 videos of people reading from banned books were posted on YouTube last year and helped attract an unprecedented amount of press attention to Banned Books Week. Booksellers participated enthusiastically, producing more than 90 videos. “Booksellers told us their customers really enjoyed it,” ABFFE President Chris Finan said. “They also said that it was easy to shoot and upload the videos.”

Most of the bookstore videos featured customers like Jemeisha Taylor reading from Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories Treasury at Vintage Books in Vancouver, Washington [2].

ABFFE provides tools for booksellers, including both written instructions and a how-to video. It will also handle the editing and posting of the videos. Details are available on the Banned Books Week page on the ABFFE website [3].

Booksellers who are interested in participating are encouraged to contact Finan chris@abffe.org [4].