The ACLU is offering free legal advice to booksellers on how to protect customers' privacy if served with a subpoena or search warrant. Under the 2001 Patriot Act, "the Government can obtain records of a person’s book purchases as part of an intelligence investigation, without evidence that the buyer is suspected of committing a crime."

In a letter to booksellers, the ACLU quoted Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas during the McCarthy era: "If a customer ‘can be required to disclose what she read yesterday and what she will read tomorrow, fear will take the place of freedom in the libraries, bookstores, and homes of the land.’"

Among the tips contained in the letter:

"Bookstores may consult with ACLU attorneys without charge, and if we decide to represent a bookstore in litigation, there would also be no charge. Please note that although some warrants or subpoenas may contain language that prohibits the bookstore from notifying other persons about the search, these provisions do not prevent a bookstore from consulting with an attorney about how to respond to a subpoena."

"Probably the strongest method of protecting customer privacy is simply not to retain unnecessary records. A subpoena or search warrant cannot force anyone to disclose records that do not exist. For some booksellers, it may be useful to develop systems to delete personal or unnecessary information about customers. Indeed, such a practice might be a selling point for customers who care about their privacy."

For more on this, see the New York Times article, "Librarians Receive Advice on Law and Reader Privacy":

"Concerned about how federal access to their records would undermine readers' privacy, thousands of librarians gathered today around the country to hear televised advice about how to respond to government requests under last year's antiterrorism law."

"Although some of the librarians calling in from among the 250 sites in a national teleconference suggested defiance of the 2001 USA Patriot Act, all the speakers said proper federal requests for data should be dutifully complied with, but only when a proper court order was served and not just because an F.B.I. agent asked for information. "