The Chicago Public Library will temporarily remove six of Dr. Seuss’s books accused of containing racism as they evaluate the long-term arrangement for the popular works that have come to the spotlight in the most recent implementation of cancel culture.
“Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’s catalog represents and supports all communities and families,” the statement reads.
All the banned titles have been checked out in the Chicago Public Library, and there are people in line to borrow them. The library will carry out the holds before temporarily canceling them, Patrick Molloy told the outlet via-email.
“It is important to recognize that what society understands to be relevant and/or common knowledge changes over time, and so too does the Library and the needs of the communities it serves,” Molloy wrote. “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.”
“Staff will continue to evaluate all Library resources and consider bias, prejudice, and racism when making decisions about our programming, services and recommendations, in addition to our collections,” Molloy continued
The online marketplace eBay has decided to pull six books authored by Dr. Seuss from its platform.
“At eBay, we have a strict policy against hate and discrimination to ensure our platform remains a safe, trusted and inclusive environment for our global community of buyers and sellers,” Parmita Choudhury, eBay Corporate Communications Specialist told the news outlet. “We’re currently sweeping our marketplace to remove these items. It can take some time to review all existing listings and provide education to impacted users. We’re also monitoring the newly published list to be reviewed.”
