MESKIS A READERS' CHAMPION

Intellectual Freedom

Confronted a year ago by five police officers expecting to execute a search
warrant for the purchasing records of one of her bookstore customers,
Denver's Tattered Cover owner Joyce Meskis refused access to the store's
files, on behalf of the First Amendment rights of her customers.

Meskis in her downtown Tattered Cover bookstore in October 2000, after a
Denver court dealt her a setback in her battle to keep customers' purchase
records confidential.

Later, she wrote her customers a "Dear Reader" letter, admitting that,
"When you get served, or even threatened with a subpoena or search warrant,
it's pretty scary."

Meskis and her bookstore, which she purchased in 1974, have consistently
protected readers' rights by offering a diversity of materials and author
events "without prejudice." In other words, she explains, "We cannot
abrogate our responsibility to the First Amendment, which we believe to be
the cornerstone of our democratic tradition and of our bookstore. And make
no mistake, it is just as much a censorial act to prevent an author signing
because one doesn't like the view of the author as it would be if the book
were disallowed on the shelf."

In October 2000, Denver District Judge Stephen Phillips ruled that Meskis
was obligated to turn over her purchase records to law enforcement
officials. Meskis appealed the ruling to the Colorado Supreme Court, where
it is still pending.

Meskis' love of reading is rooted in her childhood, when, she says, "I read
my way through the library." One can readily picture her as Roald Dahl's
Matilda, particularly in the fourth grade when an adult (whom she declines
to identify) told her she couldn't read a particular book since it was for
adults, not children. "But my mother wouldn't mind," she protested.

That was among the earliest of Meskis' indefatigable efforts to protest
actions that would muzzle intellectual freedom. When she was a young woman
working at the Littleton Public Library, a parent chastised her because
Meskis recommended Margaret Mead's "Coming of Age in Samoa" to a teenager.
Meskis has organized or led various coalitions to assert intellectual
freedom - including her service as president of the Colorado Citizens
Against Censorship, a founder of the American Booksellers Foundation for
Free Expression, and a leader in the National Coalition Against Censorship.

When the Tattered Cover offers controversial books, it loses customers.
"Permanently," Meskis emphasizes. Critics accuse her of seeking profit at
the expense of morals. Meskis said she has found, "When we have a
controversial author, there's a far greater likelihood" that offended
customers will never return.

Meskis also worries about the shrinking harbor for ideas outside the
mainstream. In the closing of a "Dear Reader" letter to customers, Meskis
makes this declaration: "I increasingly wonder how will we ever continue to
be a viable bookstore presenting the variety of books and authors that, in
their diversity, strengthen our democracy in the debate of ideas. I worry
that all of these forces may interfere with our freedom to read, and faster
than a lightening bolt, zap away the soul of our First Amendment, thereby
diminishing our democratic society."