Remember when Dr. Seuss Enterprises discontinued six books for "racist and insensitive imagery"?

In early 2021, Dr. Seuss Enterprises decided to discontinue publishing six of their children's books because the books featured "racist and insensitive imagery." The six discontinued titles are 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. The North Dakota State Library had one of these titles on its shelves, and the decision was just made to permanently remove the book.

The North Dakota State Library decided to remove If I Ran the Zoo after a Fargo resident requested it to be moved to the adult section.

According to Bismarck Tribune, the North Dakota State Library made the decision to remove the Dr. Seuss title, If I Ran the Zoo. The reason the book is being pulled is not what you might think. After Fargo resident, Christopher Coen, suggested that the book be moved from the children to the adult collection for research purposes, a committee decided to remove the book entirely.

Bismarck Tribune reports that this was the first time such a request was made "in at least 21 years." State Librarian, Mary Soucie, said that the decision was made because nobody was even checking out the book and that, "If a book isn't earning its shelf space, then it does get removed."

The fact that the state library decided to remove the book may seem controversial, but there really is no point in keeping the book if it is not being checked out anyway. Many people worry that cancel culture is erasing the past, but it is not like these books have all been banned and burned - they are still available for sale online. And I see no issue in a book being removed from a library if it is just taking up space - maybe the kids will get a new book to replace If I Ran the Zoo.

How do you feel about the state library's decision to remove If I Ran the Zoo?

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