Thursday, September 4, 2008

Considering Censorship?

Intellectual Freedom, a library in Alaska and politics ....sounds like a news story that should be mentioned here! A September 2, 2008 New York Times article http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/03/us/politics/03wasilla.html?hp "Palin's Start in Alaska: Not Politics As Usual" includes accounts of Sarah Palin, newly elected in 1996 as Mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, approaching the town librarian about the possibility of banning some books. Later Palin fired the librarian and then reinstated her. Sarah Palin is now the Republican candidate for Vice President. Is this story of any importance? Do you know of other high profile individuals that have at the very least publicly flirted with impinging upon Intellectual Freedom? Let us know if you have. We're collecting news stories for our discussion session at the NLA/NEMA conference in October and we're always looking for a good exchange of opinions!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I know this story is making the rounds, but has anyone actually checked on it's veracity?

Anonymous said...

Depends if you're counting the New York Times as "anyone".

Michael Sauers said...

Further details about this story can be found on the blog Librarians Against Palin.

Michael Sauers said...

Whoops, the link in my previous post is incorrect. (Though it does link to a relevant article.) The correct link for the Librarians Against Palin blog is http://librariansagainstpalin.wordpress.com/.

Anonymous said...

I subscribe to Library Link of the Day, and this link regarding Sarah Palin was sent today. It's from the Anchorage Daily News.
http://www.adn.com/sarah-palin/story/515512.html

Also, NPR has an interview with Anne Kilkenny of Wasilla. She wrote a letter to friends who had asked her about Sarah Palin, and it wound up on the web.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94332543

Just more info to consider.

Anonymous said...

Here's the link to the story as reported in the Wasilla newspaper, the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, on Dec. 18, 1996. I think this trumps the New York Times.

http://www.frontiersman.com/articles/2008/09/08/breaking_news/doc48c1c8a60d6d9379155484.txt