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U.S. Patriot Act: Reader Privacy Fight Resumes In Congress

Last week, Senator Patrick Leahy introduced the reauthorization of a bill that would restore protections for reader privacy that were formerly eliminated by 2001's Patriot Act.

Leahy's bill was approved in 2009 by the Senate Judiciary Committee, but it never received a vote by the full Senate. According to a press release, the bill "provides important safeguards for library records, limiting FBI searches to the records of people who are 'agents of a foreign power,' including suspected terrorists, and people known to them...The Patriot Act currently authorizes the FBI to search any records that are 'relevant' to a terrorist investigation, including the records of people who are not suspected of criminal conduct."
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Digital Book World: e-Royalties, Amazon and the Shape of Things To Come

In what has become a crowded digital conference circuit, Digital Book World seems to have solidified its importance to the industry with an impressive turnout. DBW closed out this year’s programming with a grab bag of presentations at the end of the day that featured the results of a Mike Shatzkin poll of agents on e-book royalties; an Amazon.com presentation on e-book as well as print sales; and a roundtable discussion attempting to project the shape of the publishing landscape to come.
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Could Authors Be Liable to Consumers If an E-Bookstore Dies?

This weekend, Borders (BGP) let their creditors know they'd be holding off on paying rent at the end of January, in a bid to preserve liquidity. Sure, many have known for some time that Borders was in bad financial shape, but telling your landlord you're skipping rent is a sign things have gone from bad to worse and that the end—or at least a formal filing of bankruptcy—is nigh.
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February Member Spotlight