Time magazine has triggered a blogosphere storm with a charge that Republican vice presidential pick Sarah Palin considered banning library books while she was a small town mayor in Alaska. The accusation comes from John Stein, whom Palin beat in the 1996 Wasilla mayoral election.

Here's what Time wrote: Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. "She asked the library how she could go about banning books," he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. "The librarian was aghast." That woman, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn't be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving "full support" to the mayor.

Based on what I know of Palin's conservatism and the Bible Belt tenor of Wasilla, I can see that sort of issue arising -- if not from her, than from her supporters. But Time offers no verification from library staffers, and no rebuttal from Palin. So even though I cringe at the thought of library books being challenged or banned -- and was shocked by the recent Enoch Pratt vandalism -- I'll resesrve judgment until we get more facts.