I'm not surprised by the contents of the Oct. 12 Associated Press article "Alaska inquiry finds Palin abused power." More than a decade ago, when U.S. Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was a mayor, she asked the city librarian if the librarian would be open to the suggestion that certain books be removed. The librarian balked and, for her unwillingness to rid the library of books thought inappropriate, was fired. Thanks to the public uproar over the mayor's action, she was reinstated as librarian.

America's third president, Thomas Jefferson, whose words "I cannot live without books" are printed on a library tote bag, might have been displeased that an American would make the un-American suggestion that some books might be eligible for withdrawal due to someone's opinion that they don't belong in a library. It's up to the reading public to decide what books will be read and what books will collect dust.

michael g. driver