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When the town preacher (Geoffrey Lower) sees Colleen reading a copy of Faust -- one of the many books Dr. Quinn donated to the Colorado Springs Public Library -- he concludes that no "ungodly" text has any place on the town's reading list and initiates a movement to permanently close the library. Fearing the worst, Mike and Sully begin a private library in their own house, which literally only serves to fan the flames when the incensed town stages a book burning. Horrified, Dr. Mike accuses the reverend of hypocrisy by pointing out that the Bible itself contains sex and violence. However, despite her passionate defense of literature, Michaela has a hard time reading the poetry of Walt Whitman, and Sully vows to help her recognize the beauty in his candid writing.