SPRINGS BOOKSTORE LIKES COURT RULING

A framed sign inside the entryway at one Springs bookstore assures
browsers that what they buy will be kept in confidence: "The owners
and staff of The Chinook Bookshop Inc. consider it our responsibility
to you and to the First Amendment to respect the privacy of your
choice of books and other materials."

Chinook co-owner Dick Noyes is so dedicated to this commitment to
customers he put $500 toward the legal fund that supported Joyce
Meskis, the owner of the Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver, in her
successful fight to protect patrons' anonymity.

"We feel very strongly about freedom to read and about one's need for
privacy," Noyes said Monday.

If confronted by a police request for sales receipts or records,
Noyes said he'd do "exactly what Tattered Cover did."

"We would say 'no way Jose. You have to subpoena this.' And then we
would take it to court."

Chris Finan, the president of the American Booksellers Foundation for
Free Expression in New York City, said while the Tattered Cover case
centered around a criminal investigation, it has implications not
only for the potential bad guy but for the public at large.

In the Tattered Cover incident, police wanted to know who bought how-
to books on making drugs.

"Our fear is that if people become convinced their records are being
exposed, they won't have the freedom to buy the things they need,"
such as books about incest or depression or sexually transmitted
diseases, Finan said.

While the court's ruling puts Colorado in the forefront on the
privacy issue - Finan called it a "resounding affirmation of the
importance of protecting customer privacy and free expression" - the
decision is not absolute.

"It doesn't mean there's blanket protection or police can never get
information about purchases at bookstores, but it does mean the
police will have to demonstrate there's no other way to obtain the
info that they need," Finan said.

"It means bookstores are not the first place police should go in
their investigation. It should be the last place. And even so, they
might not get what they're looking for unless they can show a
compelling need for it."

Bookstores across the nation contributed money - about $40,000 -
toward the Tattered Cover case. The bookstore's customers chipped in,
too, Finan said.

Finan's organization has been involved in the legal fight since the
start in April 2000, he said. "Joyce Meskis called me the day that
the cops came and tried to serve the search warrant."

Noyes, the Chinook owner, said he hasn't had to face a subpoena.

"In 43 years, we've had a very strong stance on this issue, and our
convictions are well-known."