USA TODAY: ALLEGATIONS THAT PALIN BANNED BOOKS ARE FALSE

By John Fritze, USA TODAY

PALIN DID NOT BAN BOOKS IN WASILLA AS MAYOR

Despite a national discussion about whether Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin sought to ban books as mayor more than a decade ago, the city says there is no record of any books being yanked from the shelves.

Since being selected as John McCain’s running mate, Palin has faced questions over discussions she had with Wasilla’s librarian in 1996. In recent days, a bogus list of “banned books” has been widely circulated on the Internet.

But on its website, the city of Wasilla posted a statement asserting that no books at the library have ever been banned.

The statement notes that the library has a policy to handle requests to remove books. During a period of more than two decades four books have been challenged by library patrons, including a book in 2005 by television comedian Jon Stewart, America (The Book), according to the city.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-09-09-Palin-book-ban_N.htm