INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Public Library is considering removing Dr. Seuss books from its shelves. The reason it gave 13News is "dated imagery."
The consideration Tuesday comes as Dr. Seuss Enterprises announced it would stop publishing a half dozen books.
"These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong," Dr. Seuss Enterprises told The Associated Press in a statement that coincided with the late author and illustrator’s birthday. "Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises' catalog represents and supports all communities and families."
The books include: "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street," "If I Ran the Zoo," "McElligot’s Pool," "On Beyond Zebra!," "Scrambled Eggs Super!," and "The Cat's Quizzer."
13News reached out to the Indianapolis Public Library about the books and was told it follows Read Across America's lead to not utilize or celebrate Dr. Seuss materials within library programming.
"We review and update our collection routinely for accuracy, currency, and materials that reflect our community interests, and this review includes dated imagery in children’s books. Removing items from our shelves is a decision that is not taken lightly as we strive for open access to materials, and we are currently considering how to handle these existing titles within the collection. As The Library pursues an improved approach to our strategic priority of racial equity, we will continue to avoid promoting or elevating these types of materials."
The library said it goes through children's picture books for "dated imagery," and it just finished going through the entire Thanksgiving children's book collection. The Dr. Seuss titles, and others, are next up for review.
The decision to cease publication and sales of the books was made last year after months of discussion, the company, which was founded by Seuss' family, told AP.
"Dr. Seuss Enterprises listened and took feedback from our audiences including teachers, academics and specialists in the field as part of our review process. We then worked with a panel of experts, including educators, to review our catalog of titles," it said.
In "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street," an Asian person is portrayed wearing a conical hat, holding chopsticks, and eating from a bowl. "If I Ran the Zoo" includes a drawing of two bare-footed African men wearing what appear to be grass skirts with their hair tied above their heads.
Books by Dr. Seuss — who was born Theodor Seuss Geisel in Springfield, Massachusetts, on March 2, 1904 — have been translated into dozens of languages as well as in braille and are sold in more than 100 countries. He died in 1991.