Saturday, September 6, 2008

Sarah Palin is in Yer Liberries, Banning Yer Books

I don't normally rant about politics on this blog, and I know I'm a little late on the uptake with this one, but I need to mention this because it's an issue so close to my professional life and my own personal beliefs. In case you haven't seen the New York Times article or the Time Magazine article, the big hairy deal is that when Sarah Palin first became mayor of Wasilla, AK, she tried to have some books banned. When the librarian stood up to her she either threatened the woman's job or did fire her and then reinstate her when it appeared she had gone too far.

Between bookstores and libraries I have over 8 years experience working with the reading public, and during that time I have heard more people than I can remember express incredulity that anyone still tries to ban books in this day and age, and disgust that they often get away with it. Yes folks, people in this country do still try to ban books. And Sarah Palin is one of them.

Folks, this is not OK. You do not ban books. You do not ban books from a public library. You do not ban books from a public library in a small town. Small towns often have no bookstores; if you ban a book in a small-town library you are completely denying access to that book for the people who use and need the library most: children, people without internet, people who don't have the money to just order the book online. This is just one more thing to add to the shit-heap that is the Republican campaign.

For more information on challenged and banned books, visit the website for the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom.

1 comment:

clumsygirl said...

My incredulity upon learning about that incident was immense and not something with which to be trifled. I'm mean, book banning? For serious?