# Mayor Palin tried to force her local Library to ban books she didn't like. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 3, 2008, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900 "2008-09-03T18:31:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900/241 "2008-09-05T17:36:13Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Well, let me assure you that, during the process of obtaining their Master’s degree in library science, librarians are well trained in how to develop a balanced collection. Any librarian is going to be better equipped to handle this task than “the community” at large. > > Neither of those men are librarians. I suppose we could have a jolly time imagining what it would be like if Bill O’Reilly, Hugh Hefner, Mister Rogers, or Vlad the Impaler were librarians, but that’s not a debate. It’s just making things up. Marry me! Right now! I’ve already got the dress! To the best of my knowledge there is not an American Library Association accredited masters program anywhere in the nation that doesn’t require Collection Development courses as pre-req to graduation. I’ll spare you the trade names and jargons, but there’s also ALL KINDS of development databases and literature and forums all to ensure that it’s done fairly and represents the widest array of users while also remaining true to the largest patron groups. And the whole “anyone who works in a library is a librarian” thing… argh! Yes, it’s true, J. Edgar Hoover and Golde Meir were librarians, but that was a very different time. The games changed a lot in the last 90 years. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900/242 "2008-09-05T17:38:35Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Because it’s flat wrong. Just because you can be fired by a elected official doesn’t make you a “political appointee.” A library director is _never_ a “political” position, regardless of how they are hired and fired. And yes, library director == head librarian. It’s the same damn thing. Did you read the cite? In that town at least the "city’s library director " is an _appointed political position_, who serves at the will of the Mayor. It is apparently the position to whom the MLS Civil Service Librarian reports to. You know, _somewhere_ up the chain is a \*Political position \*that the \*Civil Servants \*report to. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900/243 "2008-09-05T17:40:45Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > What I’m saying is thats a LOT of librarians for a community that size, and I wouldn’t have a political appointee library director either. I’m surprised a reformer and fiscal conservative like Palin would have folded on that. There doesn’t seem to be a job here. You need a head librarian preferably with an MLS, and a volunteer committee for the museum. > > (This is where I go from liberal to conservative. Don’t waste my tax dollars hiring employees that sit on their thumbs). Which could be why the compromise to merge the Museum and Library depts? I dunno why they did things like that. It’s a small town in Alaska, that explains a lot to me. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900/244 "2008-09-05T17:40:45Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > I’m a little confused as to what your position is here. On the one hand you seem to say that libraries can, indeed, “to some extent, reflect a community”. On the other hand you seem to be saying that a “biased” collection is a bad thing. But the former IS the latter, isn’t it? I am not casting any vote as to whether a balanced collection is or is not a good thing. I’m merely suggesting that “reflecting a community” is not what I would consider as a criterion for “balanced collecting.” There is little point to a library that doesn’t cater to its community (no one goes), but there is little point to a library that only caters to its community (this is a bookstore). > [@](#): > > Let’s compare apples and apples. Take three libraries in different parts of the country. The communities they serve are identical in population. The libraries themselves are identical in size and the number of books they can hold, according to you (if I’m understanding you correctly), they should all have identical collections, right? I am in no position to describe what books libraries should have. This is the job of librarians, a position I am not trained for. I am merely suggesting that while defining what constitutes a balanced collection is may be difficult, “reflecting the community” is not indicative of balance, it is indicative of bias. A good library may necessarily need to reflect the community to some extent. I would imagine in must, in order to be relevant at all. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900/245 "2008-09-05T17:45:28Z")
It is not at all obvious how to aggregate the preferences of an entire community when making individual book decisions. Aggregation of preferences into singular social choices is fantastically difficult. I cannot imagine doing it fairly for every library book purchased by the local branch. As others have pointed out, this is why we have librarians. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900/246 "2008-09-05T17:54:31Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Did you read the cite? In that town at least the "city’s library director " is an _appointed political position_, who serves at the will of the Mayor. It is apparently the position to whom the MLS Civil Service Librarian reports to. You know, _somewhere_ up the chain is a \*Political position \*that the \*Civil Servants \*report to. You probably also think that a U.S. attorney is merely a politician. Your method of appointment doesn’t make your \*job \*a political one. Neither a library director, nor a police chief, regardless of whose “whim” they serve at the behest of is a “political” job. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900/247 "2008-09-05T18:06:42Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Which could be why the compromise to merge the Museum and Library depts? I dunno why they did things like that. It’s a small town in Alaska, that explains a lot to me. I don’t see why in a small town you’d need a political appointee to oversee either. You’d need a Librarian - because that’s a professional job with a specialized skill set - but that shouldn’t be a political appointment. And you MIGHT choose to have a curator of the museum - if your community was really flushed with cash - most small towns its pretty much volunteers running those things (it is in my town of 35,000). Paid positions should answer to the city manager - that’s why you employ a city manager - which - if you are sensible - shouldn’t be a political appointee either since being a city manager is also a specialized job with a specialized skill set - and its very hard to get a good city manager when you are a 'burb in the Twin Cities - I can’t imagine trying to find a good city manager as a political appointee in small town Alaska. Volunteer positions should be turned over to non-profit foundations. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900/248 "2008-09-05T18:09:52Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > You probably also think that a U.S. attorney is merely a politician. Your method of appointment doesn’t make your \*job \*a political one. Neither a library director, nor a police chief, regardless of whose “whim” they serve at the behest of is a “political” job. It was in that town, no matter what you think it should be elsewhere. That’s simply the facts in this case. you opinion of what should be or what occurs elsewhere is meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900/249 "2008-09-05T18:10:36Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Did you read the cite? In that town at least the "city’s library director " is an _appointed political position_, who serves at the will of the Mayor. It is apparently the position to whom the MLS Civil Service Librarian reports to. You know, _somewhere_ up the chain is a \*Political position \*that the \*Civil Servants \*report to. A gaggle of librarians has descended on this thread and told you that it doesn’t work that way. Why would we all be lying? Also, again, Emmons was President of the Alaska Library Association. There is absolutely ZERO chance that she doesn’t have an MLS. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900/250 "2008-09-05T18:33:04Z")
> [@Cosmic Relief](#): > > I would dispute that most libraries are constantly having decide which books to toss out because of overwhelming requests for other new books. More often it would be because they are worn, lost, or damaged. I’d also dispute that space is as common a problem as you think. Even if books can’t be put on a shelf, there is generally reserve space elsewhere that can be used. That’s all fine and well, but room is not infinite. You know this. At some point old books will have to be removed to make room for new ones. Every library goes through this. A Librarian, even when selecting new books, is accepting some and rejecting others. > [@Cosmic Relief](#): > > No, not fine. I say it’s inevitable to a small degree, but if it drifts too much then the librarian needs to keep it balanced. This does not mean a librarian should be fired if they don’t respond to the community’s every passing whim, or ensure that the composition is satisfactory to the local majority, which is what you seemed to be suggesting. But who gets to define balanced? We go back to my O’Reilly/Olberman analogy. Who has the final word? And I’m not talking about kowtowing to every whim, but if a community, over time, feels that its library would serve them better with more x and less y, and the Librarian insists on more y and less x, doesn’t the community have the right—or responsibility—to replace him? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900/251 "2008-09-05T18:39:16Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > A gaggle of librarians has descended on this thread and told you that it doesn’t work that way. Why would we all be lying? > > Also, again, Emmons was President of the Alaska Library Association. There is absolutely ZERO chance that she doesn’t have an MLS. Becuase you didn’t read (isn’t that a job requirement for librarians?) the cite that said Emmons position \*in that town \*was a appointed political postion, serving at the will of the Mayor. No books were censored. No one other than Kilkenny has any recollection of Palin asking about book banning. > **[Librarians Against Palin!](https://librariansagainstpalin.wordpress.com/)** > > Librarians & Library Lovers Unite against Sarah Palin, a Librarian Censor! "Were any books censored banned? June Pinell-Stephens, chairwoman of the Alaska Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee since 1984, checked her files Wednesday and came up empty-handed. Pinell-Stephens also had no record of any phone conversations with Emmons about the issue back then. Emmons was president of the Alaska Library Association at the time.Books may not have been pulled from library shelves, but there were other repercussions for Emmons. Four days before the exchange at the City Council, Emmons got a letter from Palin asking for her resignation. Similar letters went to police chief Irl Stambaugh, public works director Jack Felton and finance director Duane Dvorak. John Cooper, a fifth director, resigned after Palin eliminated his job overseeing the city museum." All of the cities \*Top managers \*were asked to resign: [http://www.mceades.com/graphics/palin\_article1.jpg](http://www.mceades.com/graphics/palin_article1.jpg) Thus Emmons was not singled out. She was a “top manager” who was a political appointee who served at the will of the mayor. All dept heads were asked to resign. Emmons was not fired, Palin rescinded her request that Emmons resign after working out a compromise with Emmons about a dept merge. It is possible the Emmons has a MLS, I can’t find any biographical info for her. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900/252 "2008-09-05T18:50:39Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > That’s all fine and well, but room is not infinite. You know this. At some point old books will have to be removed to make room for new ones. Every library goes through this. A Librarian, even when selecting new books, is accepting some and rejecting others. > > But who gets to define balanced? We go back to my O’Reilly/Olberman analogy. Who has the final word? And I’m not talking about kowtowing to every whim, but if a community, over time, feels that its library would serve them better with more x and less y, and the Librarian insists on more y and less x, doesn’t the community have the right—or responsibility—to replace him? Many libraries are designed to grow with their collection. New libraries especially are built with extra space that is meant to be filled (eventually) with book shelves. And most libraries do not have to decide what to cut to make room for new books. Removing outdated books and damaged books will usually create more than enough room. As for a balanced collection, you’re looking at it too closely. The community would never examine the individual books inhe collection close enough for your scenario to come to pass. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Becuase you didn’t read (isn’t that a job requirement for librarians?) the cite that said Emmons position \*in that town \*was a appointed political postion, serving at the will of the Mayor. I’m done with you. Your refusal to even consider arguments beyond your own is too much for me. If want to you continue to harp on the “appointed political position” argument, then I’ll see you in The Pit because I can’t say here what I’d like to say to you there. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900/253 "2008-09-05T19:08:18Z")
> [@](#): > > All of the cities Top managers were asked to resign: > [http://www.mceades.com/graphics/palin\_article1.jpg](http://www.mceades.com/graphics/palin_article1.jpg) Actually, that article, which has been brought up earlier, says something different than what you say. Something tha, to me, seems very odd. It says that > [@](#): > > The newly-elected mayor of Wasilla has asked all of the city’s top managers to resign in order to test their loyalty to her administration _What???_ This sounds as if she’s saying “Everybody give me a signed resignation. If you do, I’ll probably keep you on, since by doing so you’ve proved your loyalty.” That’s weird in the extreme, and I think it a highly suspicious move. It allows her to later say “But they resigned themselves – See? I have their signed resignation.” Only the Chief of Police and the Librarian (and possibly others – it hasn’t been made clear) obviously didn’t willing commit career _seppuku_. They had letter announcing their termination dropped on their desks. In the case of the librarian, the townspeople complained. That’s a weird set of actions. It’s not simply the new mayor firing the Old Guard. And that’s independent of whether these are appointed “political” positions. I don’t know if its all kosher, but it has a sneaky feel to it. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900/254 "2008-09-05T19:13:33Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > That’s all fine and well, but room is not infinite. You know this. At some point old books will have to be removed to make room for new ones. Every library goes through this. A Librarian, even when selecting new books, is accepting some and rejecting others. As I said, I’m comfortable that enough space gets freed up through wear, damage, theft, failure to return, and additional library space that I don’t see it as a significant cause for culling existing books in favor of new ones. > [@](#): > > But who gets to define balanced? We go back to my O’Reilly/Olberman analogy. Who has the final word? And I’m not talking about kowtowing to every whim, but if a community, over time, feels that its library would serve them better with more x and less y, and the Librarian insists on more y and less x, doesn’t the community have the right—or responsibility—to replace him? It has been noted elsewhere in this thread that librarians go through a great deal of intensive training to maintain what is well-understood to constitute a balanced library, and that in general those who become librarians consider this a serious responsibility. If you got some sort of rogue librarian that stocked it with 90% bowling equipment trade magazines or something outlandish, of course they should be removed. But that’s so far into the hypothetical that it isn’t really relevant to this discussion. Have you ever heard of a community complaining because their library, overall, didn’t represent the balance that they liked because of attrition or bias? No, of course not. That’s a hypothetical that doesn’t even come up. It’s always always isolated incidents of people asking to ban titles due to religious objections, language, mature subject matter, things like that. Not just balance of collection - banning the book from being stored, lent, or even ordered from a reserve collection. That’s always wrong, and no community has a moral right to stifle free speech, not even if you can imagine some purely theoretical corner case where a power-mad librarian decided to commit career suicide by going against all their professional training. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900/255 "2008-09-05T20:07:53Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I’m done with you. Your refusal to even consider arguments beyond your own is too much for me. If want to you continue to harp on the “appointed political position” argument, then I’ll see you in The Pit because I can’t say here what I’d like to say to you there. Becuase 'what is usually done in the libraries I have experience with" is good info. But when it directly conflcits with the facts in this particular city, that general info is no longer useful. Let me put it with way- you are a librarian, right? I assume your boss is a Librarian, and maybe her boss also. But I have no doubt at all that if you go up the chain enough we _will_ encounter a political boss of the Library system. Perhaps we have to go all the way to Mayor or City Manager. But somewhere, some elected or appointed political official is the boss. In this case, the chain seems to have been 3 librarians, one MLS Librarian (note caps) (a civil servant), the city dept head (Emmons, a political appointee) then the Mayor. Why that little pissant AK town did things that way is beyond me-\* but they did\*. It may be be silly, stupid, unusual, weird, un-economic or whatever- but that’s still the way it was. You have the cites, you can read them for yourselves. For some reason- known only to the City Fathers of that dinky little town- \*all \*the Dept heads are political appointees, subject to firing by the will of the Mayor. Gawd only knows why, but that’s the way it is. Why are you trying to dispute \*the facts in this particular case \*with general info? General info was handy before we knew the facts. Generally- most Mammals don’t lay eggs. That doesn’t mean the Platypus doesn;t exist. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900/256 "2008-09-05T20:14:44Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Actually, that article, which has been brought up earlier, says something different than what you say. Something tha, to me, seems very odd. It says that > > _What???_ > This sounds as if she’s saying “Everybody give me a signed resignation. If you do, I’ll probably keep you on, since by doing so you’ve proved your loyalty.” That’s weird in the extreme, and I think it a highly suspicious move. It allows her to later say “But they resigned themselves – See? I have their signed resignation.” > > Only the Chief of Police and the Librarian (and possibly others – it hasn’t been made clear) obviously didn’t willing commit career _seppuku_. They had letter announcing their termination dropped on their desks. In the case of the librarian, the townspeople complained. > That’s a weird set of actions. It’s not simply the new mayor firing the Old Guard. And that’s independent of whether these are appointed “political” positions. I don’t know if its all kosher, but it has a sneaky feel to it. It’s the way the Cabinet works with a new President. They all submit their letters. In case of a new party taking over, nearly all are accepted. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900/257 "2008-09-05T20:16:36Z")
> [@](#): > > It’s the way the Cabinet works with a new President. They all submit their letters. In case of a new party taking over, nearly all are accepted. Never heard of anythimng like it in Small Town Politics. It smacks of delusions of grandeur. I’m not anti-Palin. So far, I like the lady. But if someone pulled a stunt like that in my hometown or where I now live, they’d be talked about. > [@](#): > > Generally- most Mammals don’t lay eggs. That doesn’t mean the Platypus doesn;t exist. Platypuses aren’t mammals. They’re monotremes. We like to keep our definitions tidy. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900/258 "2008-09-05T20:20:24Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Palin is definitely the least funny Lily Tomlin character to date. Thanks a lot. You know of course that I will never get that coffee back, don’t you? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900/259 "2008-09-05T20:30:11Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Let me put it with way- you are a librarian, right? I assume your boss is a Librarian, and maybe her boss also. But I have no doubt at all that if you go up the chain enough we _will_ encounter a political boss of the Library system. Perhaps you didn’t read the first few pages of this thread, but that is not how it works in New York state. I have no “political” boss. > [@DrDeth](#): > > In this case, the chain seems to have been 3 librarians, one MLS Librarian (note caps) (a civil servant), the city dept head (Emmons, a political appointee) then the Mayor. If Emmons was choosing the books and was who Palin went to to talk about banning them, she was not a dept. head. She was located in the library doing librarian things. Again, it is IMPOSSIBLE for her not to be the MLS Librarian. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Why are you trying to dispute \*the facts in this particular case \*with general info? General info was handy before we knew the facts. Because you are misinterpreting the facts. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2008, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900/260 "2008-09-05T20:38:59Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Never heard of anythimng like it in Small Town Politics. It smacks of delusions of grandeur. > . I thought it was weird in such a small town too, but apparently that’s how the Charter was written in that pissant burg. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mayor-palin-tried-to-force-her-local-library-to-ban-books-she-didnt-like/461900.md?page=14)