THUNDER BAY – There will still be plenty of Dr. Seuss books on hand for young readers at the Thunder Bay Public Library, but after a review, the institution has removed several titles deemed to include racist content.
The library also committed to a broader review of its collections policy in light of the episode.
Dr. Seuss Enterprises, which oversees the famous children’s author’s estate, announced Tuesday it would cease publication of six Seuss titles.
The decision came after a review by experts including educators, which found the books contained harmful and offensive portrayals of non-white characters, the entity said.
The public library said the following day it would remove those books, mostly lesser-known early works, from its collection pending a review.
On Friday, it announced it would make that removal permanent.
“Thunder Bay Public Library is committed to freedom of expression and anti-racism,” the library said in a statement. “The recent Dr. Seuss debate has highlighted how these values can sometimes become contradictions.
“When these contradictions cannot be resolved, we have to privilege one value over another. With regards to the Dr. Seuss titles that have racist content, we have decided to privilege our commitment to anti-racism.”
The removed books include And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street, If I Ran The Zoo, On Beyond Zebra, McElligot's Pool, Scrambled Eggs Super, and The Cat's Quizzer.
The episode has prompted the library to launch a broader review of its collections policies, it said.
“The fact that these titles were in [our collection] indicates that we need to do more work on our Collections Policy,” it stated.
“We will, therefore, be reaching out to various diverse groups and organizations in the city to work with us on making appropriate and informed changes to our policy to ensure that it is in alignment with our anti-racist aspirations.”
