Wasilla Librarian Doesn’t Recall Palin's “Banned” Titles, but Reporter Does, Vaguely

Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 9/10/2008

• First public statement by former library head
• Newspaper reporter recalls titles, but memory unclear
• Palin’s church concerned about book on gays; mayor's role murky

More information has finally emerged about Republican Vice-Presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s alleged efforts to ban books from the Wasilla Public Library, AK, when she was mayor a dozen years ago. While Wasilla’s former library director told ABCNews.com that she does not recall a conversation about specific titles, a local reporter who interviewed her told PolitiFact (a service of CQ and the St. Petersburg Times), that he recalled two titles, though he initially got the names wrong. 

This was the first public statement by Mary Ellen Baker, formerly Mary Ellen Emmons, who has otherwise said she doesn’t want to discuss the matter and would like her privacy to be respected. Palin had told the press that, when she asked about the process of removing books from the library, it was a “rhetorical question”—actually, more likely a hypothetical one—but the new reports suggest some potential motivation. Still, the record remains murky. 

Gay book raises flap
ABCNews.com reported that the church Palin then attended, the Assembly of God, had tried to get a book called Pastor, I Am Gay out of local bookstores, according to author Howard Bess, a pastor of the Church of the Covenant in the nearby town of Palmer. "And she was one of them," Bess said. The book argues for churches to be tolerant of gays and lesbians.

Was that one of the books? While two copies donated by Bess to the Wasilla Library disappeared, leading him to donate more copies, Bess told PolitiFact that he “would be surprised if my book was not one of those at issue,” but he couldn’t be sure. 

Former Frontiersman reporter Paul Stuart told PolitiFact that Emmons cited three titles Palin wanted removed. However, he could remember only two—and he got the names wrong, first suggesting I Told My Parents I’m Gay, later agreeing it was Pastor, I Am Gay.

Baker told ABCNews.com she “couldn’t dispute or substantiate” Stuart’s information, but Stuart said he was confident about the conversation. Friends and colleagues have said that Baker felt she was treated harshly by Palin.

Interaction with librarian
As reported at the time by the local Frontiersman newspaper, the then Emmons "drew a clear distinction… between the nature of Palin's inquiries and an established book-challenge policy in place in Wasilla, and in most public libraries" and said that Palin asked the library director if she could live with censorship of library books. Palin, however, told the newspaper "she had no particular books or other material in mind."

Anne Kilkenny, a local critic of Palin, told PolitiFact that Palin’s question didn’t seem rhetorical, and that the library director explained that books were selected according to professional criteria and that “I would absolutely not comply with your request.” No books were ever banned; nor are there records of specific books being discussed at a City Council. (A widely circulated list of books allegedly banned is bogus.) 

Kilkenny has also claimed that Palin tried to fire the library director because of the censorship issue, but no corroboration has emerged, as PolitiFact notes. Baker had supported the incumbent mayor; Palin initially tried to dismiss her, then rescinded the move. (The Anchorage Daily News report cast it as a loyalty issue.)

PolitiFact concludes that, because Stuart’s account is secondhand, and his recollection seems hazy, and there is no corroboration from Baker or any public records, there is “no basis to find that part of the story true.” Still, the new information presented likely will be fodder for questions posed to Palin in upcoming press interviews.