[Publib] A Library Cat

[Rawles-Heiser, Carolyn]

I worked in the library that had the Baker and Taylor cats in the 1990's
(yes, they were real cats who really lived in a library).

It was fun, especially for the staff, to have the cats around.
Because the cats were really famous, we got a lot of visitors from all
over the place (there are actually cat tourists out there!).

But there were definite issues:

1.	We had patrons who were allergic and could not use the library.
Because of the dander, we were told that the library would never be ok
for them, even after the cats were long gone, because we could never
totally get rid of the dander.  We had a patron threaten an ADA lawsuit
over it, which did not materialize, but did cause us stress!   And even
if one is not allergic, the staff need to have a high tolerance for
cats, including hair in everything--on chairs, inside your computer, on
your desk--everywhere.   This may not be fair to an employee who is not
a cat fan.

2.	There is an issue with who owns the cat and who pays for upkeep.
We had a staff member who was willing to take on the responsibility of
buying food, litter, and paying for vet bills.  This staff member also
lived nearby and came over on Sundays when we were closed to feed the
cats and scoop litter.   If you don't have someone who lives nearby it
can be a problem in bad weather or in our case when we had a major
flood.  Fortunately she worked at the library the entire lifespan of the
cats.

3.	One of our cats did not like to be touched but did like sleeping
on the circ desk, which caused an immediate conflict with patrons who
wanted to pet him.  This cat also became "un-box trained" so staff had
to do regular sweeps to make sure there were no presents left out in the
stacks for patrons.

4.	I would definitely NOT let the cat go outside if you get one.
It is a safety issue for the cat, as well as for nearby birds.  And you
don't want dead things brought into a public place.   However, you may
have patrons who attempt to let the cat out.  

To be honest, if it had been up to me, I would not have gotten the cats.
I don't think it's fair to patrons with allergies or to staff who may
not especially like cats.  But I inherited them, and I loved having them
around for the most part.  

Carolyn

Carolyn Rawles-Heiser
Library Director
Corvallis--Benton County Public Library
645 NW Monroe Ave.
Corvallis, OR  97330