So, I’m publishing a rare politically themed post today… Possibly against my better judgement since we all know politics and religion are two topics that are hard to discuss rationally; however, the topic actually relates to the beloved world of books…
My husband and I left our home in the Twin Cities hours before the RNC began to visit Denver, who had hosted the DNC the week before (coincidentally) but we watched all of the speeches from both parties, and I was reminded again of a valuable lesson my husband, a true independent, has taught me — when dealing with politics, engage the mind first and then the heart.
However, a recent news article crossed my breakfast table that engaged both my rational mind and my passionate, book-loving heart.
From last Sunday’s Minneapolis Star Tribune: Book-ban Story from ’96 is back in the News
Back in 1996, when she first became mayor, Sarah Palin asked the city librarian if she would be all right with censoring library books, should she be asked to do so.
According to news coverage at the time, the librarian said she would definitely not. A few months later, the librarian, Mary Ellen Emmons, got a letter from Palin telling her she was going to be fired…
Emmons had been city librarian for seven years and was well liked. After a wave of public support for her, Palin relented and let Emmons keep her job.
Kudos to you, Mary Ellen Emmons, for standing up for your beliefs and not backing down…
And this is the only political post I plan to write… 
Not to start a political debate, but the firing of the librarian had nothing to do with the *hypothetical* question Palin posed the librarian.
This story is just another of the ways the media is taking things out of context to ruin reputations.
Back to regularly scheduled programming.
P.S. I love reading your blog and consider myself a loyal “follower.”
No harm intended by my comment.
Thank you for your comment! Do you know what the firing was based on? I would love to hear all sides of the story — especially if Palin asked the question with the hope that Emmons would answer as she did…
Wonder what the hypothetical book was? Or books? Hmmm
The article ended stating that the librarian will not comment on the situation. It would be helpful to hear her perspective, wouldn’t it? On the other hand, people have reacted so emotionally to Palin — both positively and negatively — that I can’t blame the librarian for remaining “mum.” I certainly wouldn’t want to step into the political spotlight!
One more random thought, sparked by Cynthia’s question — would it matter what the hypothetical book was? In other words, are there any books we would want banned at our libraries? I would love to hear responses!
There was no certain book named. It was just a very broad, hypothetical question. Palins question did not even name books, she just asked if the librarian would ever consider monitoring books. Here is a CNN bit on it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgHn5KWNGk0
I really don’t know the details of the firing (and then rehiring) of the librarian. It happened well after the posed question.
I found a site that I really like. It’s factcheck.org and you can search political questions and get the REAL story instead of some biased rumor.
I just want people to really educate themselves about our candidates before they blindly listen to the media/mudslingers and believe it all.
Hope that answers the questions.
Thank you! Honestly, I’m disappointed in the Star Tribune for not checking their facts. Factcheck.org looks interesting, too — I wish they cited their sources, but their panel of experts looks credible.
I’m really looking forward to the debates so that we can decide based on the candidates unscripted views on topics, unfiltered by the media.
Thanks again for responding — isn’t one of the strengths of our country our ability to check and balance the media and each other!
Correction! I didn’t scroll down far enough — factcheck.org does a great job citing sources!!
http://www.adn.com/sarah-palin/story/510219.html
I’m loving this site…!
One more perspective from the children’s librarian who worked at the Wasilla library at the time:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080912/ap_on_el_pr/palin_librarian
I personally don’t think it was just an innocent question, I think Palin was most certainly testing to see how loyal Emmons would be to Palin’s potential policies. Here is an article from the American Library Association: http://www.ala.org/ala/alonline/currentnews/newsarchive/2008/september2008/palinswasillastory.cfm
Thank you, Anna! It is enlightening to get the librarian’s perspective on this issue, and the article was very interesting.
Even if the question was a hypothetical loyalty test, I’m still uncomfortable. I would rather my employees be loyal to what they believe in than to me, I think… But that’s why I’ll never be a politician!
Thank you for adding to the discussion, Anna!
ABC News did a longish piece on this. I’ve got it posted on my blog.
It’s never an innocent question when someone in power asks a librarian how one goes about censoring books.
She did fire the librarian, but the townspeople forced her to rehire the librarian.
It seems like many people in Alaska are “unwilling to comment” about their governor.
But, I defer to factcheck.org. They are an excellent and reliable source.
Thanks for the comment, CB — I’m heading to your blog next to check out the ABC piece…
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I stumbled upon one of those “Listmania” things Amazon throws at you: “Some of the Books Sarah Palin Tried to Bann”
It’s quite long and ridiculous – I honestly think half of them were just thrown up there to prove a point.
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