Banned Books Query

The Friends of Wasilla Public Library is a private, non-profit organization. We are a group of volunteers who advocate for our library. Our major focus since the early 1990’s has been to get a new library facility built for our rapidly growing community.

The Friends have received numerous media questions regarding the rumor that there was a list of books banned by Sarah Palin as mayor of Wasilla. I have researched all the archived Friends of Wasilla Library Board minutes from 1995-1998. I can find nothing to substantiate the theory that there was a list of books recommended to be banned by Sarah Palin. As a Board, the Friends feel pretty passionately about the negatives of banning books. There does seem to have been some discussion about book selection and the challenge policy during the time period in question. It is my personal conclusion that the “banned list” rumor is just sensationalism.

The minutes from the time in question are not in electronic form. Because we are a group of volunteers, we simply do not have time to continue to answer questions from the media. As a group of very busy volunteers, the Friends of Wasilla Library desire to focus our attention on getting a new library built for Wasilla.

Jeanne Troshynski

President Friends of Wasilla Library