Advocacy

Individuals, bookstores, and libraries are demonstrating their support for free speech by uploading three-minute videos — either a reading from a challenged book or a description of a local censorship fight — to a special channel on YouTube as part of this month’s 30th anniversary celebration of Banned Books Week.

This afternoon, New York Federal Judge Denise Cote issued an order entering as a final judgment the DOJ’s proposed settlement agreement with Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster in the e-books antitrust litigation. This means that the three settling publishers are required to terminate all of their agency agreements and any agreement that restricts an e-book retailer’s discretion over pricing as soon as allowed under contract, typically, on 30 days’ notice.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression has issued a final call for support of the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week, September 30 - October 6.

On Wednesday, August 22, the Department of Justice filed a reply memorandum with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in which it dismissed arguments made in the latest round of filings regarding the proposed e-book pricing settlement with Hachette, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster.

Trouble often arrives out of a clear blue sky, even during the lazy days of August. For three booksellers, trouble recently arrived in the form of First Amendent emergencies. ABFFE President Chris Finan explains how each dealt with the unexpected.

ABFFE has released a new video urging bookstores to join the national read-out from banned books that will be featured on YouTube during Banned Books Week, from September 30 to October 6.

The push for sales tax fairness in California and Pennsylvania, which came to a head in 2011, will bear fruit next month.

The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression is providing a variety of tools for booksellers who want to join in the celebration of the freedom to read during Banned Books Week, from September 30 - October 6.

On Monday, August 6, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Denise Cote allowed the joint request by ABA and Barnes & Noble to file an amicus brief in regard to the Department of Justice’s proposed consent decree affecting publishers’ pricing of e-books and the agency model.

Stacy Mitchell, senior researcher for the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, has compiled some key points from a growing body of research that shows scale and ownership of business matter in ways that extend far beyond economic outcomes.