The Toledo–Lucas County (Ohio) Public Library’s rejection of a donation of a biography of controversial birth-control activist Margaret Sanger four years ago has resurfaced as the subject of a censorship debate.
Melanie and Dean Witt of Swanson donated two copies of Killer Angel to the system, which rejected the work as “badly written” and “a polemic, not a biography.” Now the couple are taking their complaints to the media, the Toledo Blade reported June 15, with stories on the conservative Internet news site WorldNet Daily.com and discussion on the Ask Dr. Laura radio show.
Ironically, the Blade pointed out, the book’s author has no problem with the library’s decision: “Libraries are run by humans, so they will always reflect a particular bent,” said George Grant. “These librarians were caught reflecting a particular bias. That’s not First Amendment censorship. That’s just someone forgetting his responsibilities.” Grant told the newspaper the issue was scheduled for discussion soon on the radio programs of G. Gordon Liddy, Rush Limbaugh, and Focus on the Family.
Posted June 19, 2000.