“Proper Library” by Carolyn Ferrell was first published in the literary journal Ploughshares in 1993. It was selected for the collection Best American Short Stories 1994 by editor Tobias Wolff, which brought Ferrell's work to the attention of Houghton Mifflin editor Janet Silver, who offered her a book contract. In 1997, the book Don't Erase Me was released, a collection of eight first-person stories featuring mostly poor black girls and women. “Proper Library,” however, tells the story of a young black boy, a gay teenager living in the housing projects of the South Bronx in New York. Ferrell's experiences directing a family literacy project in the South Bronx helped her to render a disturbingly accurate and poignant portrait of the challenges faced by Lorrie and his family and the attitudes and prejudices that govern their lives. Despite the difficulties Lorrie faces, however, the story is not entirely bleak; his own confidence, compassion, and optimism leave the reader feeling that he may someday succeed in fulfilling his dreams.