Free speech guide for booksellers
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- February
- 20
The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression has put together a guide to help retailers fight censorship and answer questions from customers and others. And, I suspect this guide would be good for librarians as well. There really are quite a few situations when book, magazine and video choices are questioned. Knowing how to talk about free speech and how it is applied in our stores and libraries can make a big difference.
It is also important for booksellers to understand their rights in protecting the privacy of their customers.
The new Free Speech Training guide is written to use along with a video, “Scenes from a Bookstore: Free Speech VIgnettes” that was shown to booksellers at the industry trade show, BookExpo America.
When a customer complains about a material on the shelves or when something expected isn’t found, the ABFFE says there are good and bad ways to respond.
“Free speech problems occur in bookstores without warning. Our training guide is designed to help booksellers be ready for them,” ABFFE President Chris Finan said.
This entry was posted
on Friday, February 20th, 2009 at 6:45 pm by Barbara Nackman.
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?? I am sorry, but a library/bookstore. should carry what sells and is available. Not to carry is censorship. I went to 8 years of parochial school and many books were banned from being read. I had to rely on used bookstores and the library to read important books. 1984/F451/Catcher in the rye. graps of wrath. etc etc etc.
My worry is that one day none of tehse books will be avilable anymore.