Single Copy of Anne Frank's Diary Left at Northville Library

After hearing the debate and controversy over Northville schools' use of the unedited version of Anne Frank's diary, the Northville District Library checked to see which versions it carried.

The library has several editions, including an e-book, but all are the unedited copies and include the graphic passage describing the female body that was brought to the school district's attention by Northville mother Gail Horalek.

Since the article about Horalek's concerns was posted on Northville Patch, the book has been in high demand, said Anne Mannisto, assistant director of the Northville District Library. As of Wednesday afternoon, she said only one copy is still available.

The unedited version being used by Northville schools is officially called “Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl – The Definitive Edition.”

"Our teen services librarian is buying additional copies, and we're trying to get copies of the edited version," Mannisto said.

She said that edited version, which was originally published in 1947, had passages removed because it was a much more socially conservative time.

"But what we have is the definitive edition, and we did check it and it does contain that passage," she said.

The definitive edition, which is available in the library's teen and adult sections, became popular and widely read in the 1990s, she said, and most libraries will carry it.

Mannisto said the library also carries an academic text that includes and compares all three versions of Anne Frank's diary: the version she wrote, the version she edited herself before anything was published and the edited version that was published in 1947.

Have you read the definitive edition? Did you check out a copy from the library? Tell us in the comments.