LISNews: Librarian News

This is an interesting story from the Toledo Blade. A library rejected a donation of a biography of Martha Sanger (an abortion-rights activist) that it saw to be \"badly written...comes across as a polemic, not a biography\". Four years later, the donator is crying censorship.
\"Ironically, the author of the book, Dr. George Grant, sees nothing wrong with the library\'s decision to not carry his book. \"Institutions are full of agendas. Libraries are run by humans, so they will always reflect a particular bent,\" Dr. Grant said.\"The matter began when Melanie and Dean Witt of Swanton donated two copies of the biography to the library system\'s Holland branch, said Pat Nigro, the library\'s assistant coordinator of marketing and development.\"
\"While Ms. Sanger, who died 34 years ago, is known as a hero of birth-control and abortion-rights groups, she kept company with Nazis and embraced racist policies to discourage black and Asian population growth.\"

\"The book was turned over to central library administration for a routine screening and review.\"

\"The library system already owned 12 Sanger biographies, and a staff reviewer found the book was not up to standard, Ms. Nigro said. The written review states that \"this book is badly written, and comes across as a polemic, not a biography.\"

\"Anthony Schaefer, manager of the library\'s history, travel, and biography section, sent a letter to the Witts explaining why their donation was not accepted into circulation. \"The author\'s political and social agenda, which is strongly espoused throughout the book, is not appropriate,\" he wrote.

Four years later, the Witts, who could not be reached for comment, apparently are crying censorship. WorldNet Daily.com, a conservative Internet news site, spoke with the Witts and updated readers on the \"censoring library\" and how it \"favors leftist organizations.\"