Six Dr. Seuss books will be temporarily unavailable at the Chicago Public Library following the announcement from Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. that the books would not be published due to their racist content.
The library said by removing the six books — “If I Ran the Zoo,” “On Beyond Zebra!,” McElligot’s Pool,” “And to Think that I saw It on Mulberry Street,” “The Cat’s Quizzer,” and “Scrambled Eggs Supper!” — they encourage the public to realize what is “relevant and/or common knowledge changes over time,” The Chicago Tribune reported Monday.
Chicago Public Library to yank six Dr. Seuss books from shelves https://t.co/r5Obo5IR7A pic.twitter.com/lIS1sg1vr4
— New York Post (@nypost) March 9, 2021
“Library staff encourage patrons of all ages to engage critically with our materials, but materials that become dated or that foster inaccurate, culturally harmful stereotypes are removed to make space for more current, comprehensive materials,” explained Patrick Molloy, a spokesman with the Chicago Public Library. (RELATED: Universal Orlando ‘Evaluating’ Seuss Landing After Pulling Dr. Seuss Books From Shelves)
“The Chicago Public Library is constantly reviewing our collection to ensure that the materials we circulate are responsible to the communities we serve,” Melissa, a staff member in the library’s Information Center Department, told the Daily Caller. “Staff will continue to evaluate all library resources, and consider bias, prejudice, or racism when making decisions about our programming, services and recommendations, in addition to our collections.”
The library did not comment on the fact that “Mein Kampf,” the autobiographical book by Adolf Hitler, is still listed as available, according to their online system.
Other libraries such as the New York Public Library previously announced they would keep the six controversial Dr. Seuss books on their shelves as long as the books remained in good condition.
Following Dr. Seuss Enterprises’ announcement, people sparked bidding wars as they searched the internet for remaining copies of the books. The e-commerce company eBay eventually announced they would no longer permit the reselling of the books on their site.