Sarah Palin Library Book Ban

During the 2008 election campaign, Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin was accused of trying to ban books from the public library of Wasilla, Alaska, when she was mayor of the town in 1997. Reports indicate that she had asked the town librarian, Mary Ellen Baker, if certain books could be banned for containing language deemed objectionable.¹ According to previous Wasilla mayor John Stein, Baker was "aghast" at the suggestion.¹ In an email interview with the Wasilla paper Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, Palin wrote she made the inquiry to learn about an issue that was discussed in the city at the time, and that she never banned any books.²

Fast Facts

Sarah Palin was mayor of Wasilla 1996 to 2002
Elected Governor of Alaska in 2006
Palin is an Evangelical Christian
Asked about process for banning books in 1997¹

Attempted Firing

Also in 1997, Palin attempted to fire Baker, sending her a letter of termination for failing to provide "full support in my efforts to govern the city."³ Baker, who had supported Stein against Palin in the 1996 mayoral race, ultimately kept her job.³

Anne Kilkenny's Comments

Anne Kilkenny is a Wasilla resident cited as the author of a viral email commentary on Palin. Kilkenny's widely circulated email include the following remarks on the library incident.

"While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day."⁴

Palin's Response

"I asked the librarian about the process for answering that question as a way to familiarize myself with city staff and the issues being discussed in Wasilla at that time. I certainly never advocated banning books. This was a ridiculous, false claim. Supposedly one of the books the media claims I banned was “Harry Potter,” which wasn’t even published back then. There were never any books banned and any reports claiming otherwise are grossly false."²

— Sarah Palin in the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman

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