The Truth:
Palin did not ask for any actual books
to be banned.
According to
Anchorage Daily News, Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin asked librarian Mary Ellen Baker if she would be all
right with censoring library books should she be asked to do so.
Baker's reply was that she would definitely not be all right with
it. When questioned about this Palin called her inquiries rhetorical and
simply part of a policy discussion with a department head "about
understanding and following administration agendas."
According to a Fox News
report on September 10, 2008, Baker was issued a letter of termination
but the following day was rehired and worked on the library staff until
she resigned
shortly before Palin began her second term.
If the book list looks familiar it is
because many of these titles and works are listed in the American
Library Association's list of frequently challenged books. Once a year, the American Library
Association celebrates National Banned Book Week at public libraries all
over the country in the spirit of celebrating the freedom to read.
"The American Library Association
celebrates "Banned Book Week" in what it calls "the
freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that
opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the
importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular
viewpoints to all who wish to read them. After all, intellectual freedom
can exist only where these two essential conditions are met."
Click here for Banned Book Week info
Click here for the list of most frequently challenged books
updated 09/11/08
