Berks libraries not pulling Seuss books
Berks libraries not pulling Seuss books, saying it’s a teachable moment
Berks County public librarians are not removing the six Dr. Seuss books that are no longer being pub- lished because of hurtful portrayals of cultural stereo- types, according to a Medi- aNews Group sampling of public libraries.
The sampling followed Tuesday’s announcement by Dr. Seuss Enterprises, the California-based business preserving the author’s legacy, that the six books are no longer appropriate.
“These books portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” Dr. Seuss Enterprises said in the statement.
Tuesday also was the annual Read Across America Day, an event started by the National Education Association to promote reading and would have been the author Theodor Seuss Geisel’s 117th birthday.
Susan Brandt, president of Dr. Seuss Enterprises in San Diego, did not respond to a request from the Reading Eagle for additional details about the decision.
Meanwhile, the sampling of librarians in Berks found that the six books will remain on shelves for now.
Several school districts contacted by the Eagle declined to comment on the organization’s decision.
Some public libraries have noticed an uptick in patrons taking out the books since Tuesday.
Some librarians expected the move because of the nature of the books.
“We knew it was coming,” said Bronwen Gamble, Reading Public Library director. “The books were written in a time that wasn’t as culturally sensitive as now. We are much more diverse. He did illustrations that were of the time. The illustrations are no longer appropriate. We are learning to be more aware.”
Gamble said the books will stay put.
“We only remove books after a review process,” Gamble said.
The Reading library did not have any copies of these books on the shelves this week. They had been taken out by patrons or had been put in plastic bins to be transported to libraries for patrons.
Gamble said the decision to cease publication of the six books, which were written 45 to 84 years ago, resulted in a renewed interest in all of the Dr. Seuss books.
By Thursday afternoon, the six books were selling on Amazon for $850 to $1,600.
The six discontinued books did not include such beloved children’s books as “The Cat in the Hat,” “Green Eggs and Ham” and “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.”
The six out of print are:
• “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” 1937.
• “If I Ran the Zoo,” 1950.
• “McElligot’s Pool,” 1947.
• “On Beyond Zebra!” 1955.
• “Scrambled Eggs Super!” 1953.
• “The Cat’s Quizzer,” 1976. In Berks, there is no overall policy for the public libraries regarding the removal of books.
Amy C. Rash, Berks County library system administrator, said each library is autonomous.
Janet Yost, Kutztown
Community Library director, said the books are not being taken off the shelves. She noted that it’s positive that people are becoming more aware of racial equality.
“This can be used as a learning experience,” Yost said. “It opens people’s eyes as to how people felt at that time.”
She said if a patron objects to a book in the library, the board will discuss it and decide if it is inappropriate.
Colleen Stamm, Wyomissing Library director, said she has no intention of pulling the books.
“I feel we are a public library,” Stamm said. “No one has complained about the books. We are a library for everyone.”
Stamm noted that “If I Ran the Zoo” was awarded a Randolph Caldecott Medal for the most distinguished
American picture book for children published that year.
Kristine Seibert, Wyomissing children’s librarian, said the children like Dr. Seuss books because of the rhymes.
Stamm said the six books were written in a different time.
“Times have changed and these books are not culturally sensitive,” Seibert said. “We learn from our mistakes.”
Today, she said, the children’s books are more sensitive to different cultures.
“For now, we are not getting rid of the (six) books,” she said.
Wyomissing mother of three, Debbie Yost, said taking away the books is erasing history. Yost said the six books that are no longer being published were not the most popular books.
Yost said she has a special affinity for Dr. Seuss books, noting her three children learned to read with his books and performed in the Genesius Theatre 2013 production of “Seussical the Musical.”
Bishop Robert E. Brookins Sr., senior pastor of the Holy Trinity Church of God in Reading, said he was surprised people noticed the racist images in the books that are more than 50 years old.
“This is the tip of the iceberg,” Brookins said. “We will never be able to correct our problems until we confront our problems. We would never be where we are today without people of color. We got to the moon and we won the war (World War II) with Black soldiers.”
Brookins said the world would be a better place if people would realize there is only one race — the human race.