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SECTION 215 & BOOKSTORE/LIBRARY RECORDS
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 The Campaign for Reader Privacy was launched in 2004 to restore the safeguards for reader privacy that were eliminated by the USA Patriot Act.
PEN joined the American Library Association and the American Booksellers Association to conduct a nationwide petition drive that netted more than 130,000 signatures, held two Capitol Hill press conferences, advised key lawmakers on corrective legislation, and mobilized letter-writing and call-in campaigns around key votes.
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PRESS RELEASES
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June 18, 2010:
Increased Patriot Act Oversight Is Welcome News for Reader Privacy Advocates
 The Campaign for Reader Privacy, which has been fighting to restore privacy safeguards for library and bookstore records that were stripped away by the Patriot Act, warmly welcomed an announcement by the Inspector General of the Justice Department that he plans to begin a new investigation into how the government is using Patriot Act domestic surveillance powers.
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March 3, 2010:
Book Groups See Progress on Patriot Act
 The Campaign for Reader Privacy today declared that progress is being made in the fight to restore the safeguards for the privacy of bookstore and library records that were eliminated by Section 215 of the Patriot Act.
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November 11, 2009:
Book Groups Support Patriot Act Reform Bill in House
 The Campaign for Reader Privacy today urged its supporters to contact members of the House of Representatives in support of a bill that would effectively ban the government from using the Patriot Act to engage in fishing expeditions to identify the books that people borrow or purchase.
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October 22, 2009:
Book Groups Praise Reader Privacy Protections in House Patriot Act Bill
 The Campaign for Reader Privacy today welcomed a new House bill that will restore important reader privacy protections that were eliminated eight years ago by the USA Patriot Act.
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October 15, 2009:
Book Groups Seek Meaningful Reader Privacy Protection
 Groups representing librarians, booksellers, authors, and publishers, who have been working together for five years to restore the safeguards for reader privacy that were eliminated by the USA Patriot Act, are urging Congress to expand proposed protections for library records to encompass all books, whether borrowed or purchased.
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September 25, 2009:
Reader Privacy Advocates Welcome Patriot Act Reform Measures
 The Campaign for Reader Privacy, a coalition of organizations representing librarians, booksellers, authors, and publishers, welcomed the introduction of legislation that will safeguard the First Amendment reader privacy rights of ordinary Americans by reforming provisions of the USA Patriot Act, some of which are due to expire at the end of 2009.
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April 7, 2009:
Book Groups Launch New Effort to Amend Patriot Act
 Book groups launch latest phase in their five-year campaign to restore the reader privacy safeguards that were stripped away by the USA Patriot Act.
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April 11, 2007:
Campaign for Reader Privacy Welcomes Testimony by 'Gagged' Librarian
Following dramatic testimony from a Connecticut librarian who successfully challenged an abusive FBI National Security Letter (NSL), the Campaign called on Congress to restore the safeguards for reader privacy that were eliminated by the USA Patriot Act. >> More
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September 14, 2006:
Program to celebrate First Amendment champions
Eight individuals who have taken risky, at times harrowing stands on behalf of the First Amendment in recent months will discuss their experiences at an upcoming program in Washington, DC. >> More
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January 25, 2006:
Campaign for Reader Privacy Sends Open Letter to Congress
PEN joined organizations representing booksellers, librarians, publishers, and writers today in delivering a letter to members of the House and Senate urging them not to re-authorize the sections of the USA PATRIOT Act that are due to expire on Feb. 3 without adding additional safeguards for the privacy of bookstore and library records. >> More
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June 16, 2005:
House passes Freedom to Read Amendment
Yesterday the House passed Rep. Bernie Sanders's (I-VT) Freedom to Read Amendment to the Commerce, Justice, State (CJS) Appropriations Bill by a vote of 238-187. >> More
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April 4, 2005:
Librarian Who Fought FBI Search to Receive 2005 PEN/Newman’s Own Award
PEN named Joan Airoldi, a librarian and library director in rural Washington State who challenged an FBI effort to search patron records, as the recipient of this year’s prestigious PEN/Newman’s Own First Amendment Award. >> More
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March 9, 2005:
Freedom to Read Protection Act Reintroduced in Washington
PEN cheered the reintroduction of the Freedom to Read Protection Act, promising to mobilize readers and book lovers all over the country to press for the restoration by the end of 2005 of privacy safeguards stripped by the USA PATRIOT Act.
>> More
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September 29, 2004:
PEN presents signatures to Congress in support of amending Patriot Act
Organizations representing booksellers, librarians, publishers and authors went to Capitol Hill today to seek an amendment to Section 215 of the Patriot Act to restore due process and confidentiality to bookstore and library records. >> More
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July 8, 2004:
PEN to intensify Reader Privacy efforts after controversial House vote
PEN vowed to continue the drive to restore reader privacy protections after an effort to halt the funding that allows the government to conduct searches of bookstore and library records under Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act fell just one vote short of passing in the House today. >> More
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May 3, 2004:
PEN calls on President to abandon Patriot Act politics
PEN is calling on President Bush to lead an open, bipartisan evaluation of individual provisions of the Act that are scheduled to sunset in 2005. >> More
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February 17, 2004:
Book, library groups launch Patriot Act petition campaign
PEN joined booksellers and librarians and writers to launch a nationwide effort to obtain one million signatures in support of legislation to amend Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act. >> More
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September 19, 2003:
PEN protests Ashcroft comments on librarians, urges repeal of Patriot Act
PEN protests in the strongest possible terms the recent speech deriding the concerns that librarians, booksellers, and other organizations have expressed over Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act. >> More
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RESOURCES
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>> Campaign for Reader Privacy
>> PEN Members Speak Out
>> Resources Archive
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PRESS
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>> Full Press Archive
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February 18, 2004 | Boston Globe | Book Groups Seek Privacy
Three book organizations kicked off a national signature drive yesterday to amend a federal law that allows the FBI to inspect library and bookstore records surreptitiously. >> More
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February 23, 2004 | Portsmouth Herald | Bookstores join to fight Patriot Act
A local bookstore owner is hoping that a national petition drive will encourage lawmakers to amend a section of the USA Patriot Act that allows the FBI to view the buying and borrowing histories of customers. >> More
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March 9, 2004 | Boston Globe | Reading Over Your Shoulder
"It's the most naked form of intrusion into one's life -- to get into a person's mind, what they are reading, what their literary interest is," said Ciaran McCabe. >> More
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July 9, 2004 | Washington Post | House GOP defends Patriot Act
The House rejected a proposed change to the USA Patriot Act that would have barred the Justice Department from searching bookstore and library records. >> More
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November 19, 2004 | Contra Costa Times | At the library
In case you have ever wondered about the power of words, writers and books, this amazing situation may answer your question. >> More
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EVENTS & MULTIMEDIA
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>> Events & Multimedia Archive
State of Emergency: Unconventional Readings
Literary luminaries present a series of readings on the topics of free speech and democracy, in concert with the PEN Campaign for Core Freedoms. >> Listen
Protecting Privacy, Challenging Secrecy & Standing Up for the First Amendment
The Campaign for Reader Privacy presents this program in celebration of the 25th observance of Banned Books Week, an annual reminder that we can never take our freedom to read for granted. >> Listen
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