[Publib] A Library Cat

[Anne M. Fuller]

I too am deathly allergic to cats, as much as I love them, so I sympathize with the other people who are worried about allergies and health.

I don't know if this is a viable alternative, but the library I grew up with often had pets in the Children's area that were confined to pens or cages.  Over the course of several years, they had gerbils, hamsters, a guinea pig, and even a chinchilla (not concurrently!).  The staff would bring the critters out for programs, etc., to let the kids pet them, and they always looked forward to visiting them.  The cages were near the service desk, so staff could keep an eye on things, and keep some of the kids from getting carried away or upsetting the animals.  They weren't allowed to wander freely around the building, so there weren't as many issues with cleanliness or allergies.  I don't know who was responsible for taking care of them, or how that worked, but it went on for most of my childhood (mid-1980's to late 1990's).  Think they still had a pet of some kind when I moved away in 2002.

I don't know if that helps at all (or if this is even something they still do--I haven't been there for several years).


~Annie Fuller
Reference Librarian
Suffolk Public Library System
Suffolk, VA
________________________________________
From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org [publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Linda A. Corona [corona at bccls.org]
Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 6:03 PM
To: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Publib] A Library Cat

Our library is interested in possibly adopting a newly-weaned kitten as a library
cat. Has anyone else ever hosted a library cat? How did it work out? Did the patrons
enjoy the cat, did the staff enjoy the cat? Any feedback you could provide would be
greatly appreciated. We realize that not every experience may have been as positive
as "Dewey Readmore Books" in Iowa and we wish to start off on the right "paw".
Please respond off-list at my email address as given below. Thank you.
--
Linda A. Corona
Director
Edgewater Free Public Library
49 Hudson Avenue
Edgewater, NJ 07020
phone: 201.224.6144
fax: 201.886.3395
email:corona at bccls.org






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