This is an excerpt from an article about some animals who share our passion: visiting libraries!

Of course, at CMLE we support all animals in a library setting. (Maybe a controlled setting, in the case of some of them!) A couple of our favorites are:

• Of course, Official Office Dog Lady Grey is our all-time favorite!! She provides assistance to us and to our Guest Hosts while recording podcasts, she visits with members during our weekly Office Hour drop-in times, she looks over our computers to be sure we are working (and sniffs bags, to see if any spare treats might materialize) and she leans supportively against people when then need some calming assistance. We are fortunate to have her services here, and our visitor also enjoy interacting with her!
• Evanston Public Library’s peregrine falcons. “Peregrine falcons have been nesting at the library since 2004. They occupy the nest (scrape) from March until June each year. There is an Evanston Peregrine Falcon Watch group for posting and sharing news and observations of the Evanston Peregrine Falcons.  Scientists from the Field Museum’s Chicago Peregrine Program band the young falcons each year.” Check out their live video when the baby falcon are hatching and getting the hang of their wings – it’s adorable! (The parents flap their wings in a threatening way when patrons inside the library are too loud, disturbing their babies. While we don’t approve of library staff doing “shushing!” anymore – we understand that parent falcons must occasionally shush loud patrons.)

More animals from the article by Erin Bartnett:

“Meet an owl with his own visitor card, bats who take care of rare books, and other wild library fans:

The library is a refuge for everyone — and by everyone, I mean the whole of the animal kingdom. Sure, we all know (and try to forget) that plenty of microbial folks have wiggled their way into the stacks of the library, but what about the bigger critters and creatures? Last week, the Washington Post reported that a Georgetown library closed early after a knot — that’s the term used for a snake party — of four (four!) snakes was untangled and removed from the library premises. The library stayed closed for two more days just to make sure there were no more snakes on the premises.

We had a lot of questions. Would Samuel L. Jackson sign on for the dramatic adaptation, Snakes in the Library? Is the booksnake the sneakier and more intimidating relative of the bookworm? And most importantly: Are there other creatures who like to hang out in the library?

You’ll be pleased (or, in certain cases, concerned) to learn that there definitely are. Here are the ten species proven to be most bookish, based on their propensity for sneaking into the stacks.

Raccoons

Four baby raccoons were rescued from a New Jersey library after their mother, aiming to protect them from the same library personnel who captured her, hid them behind a wall near the first-floor elevator. After the mother was captured by staff they had to cut through drywall, brick, and steel (steel!) to rescue and remove the baby raccoons from the library.

Owls

Owls are universal symbols of wisdom, and their facsimiles adorn many a library entrance. But one British owl had a very special relationship to the library at the University of Bath. His job was to keep other birds out of the way. Territorial seagulls were nesting on campus, and many feared for the safety of the humans on the ground. Professor Yoda the Owl, as he was named, swooped onto campus a couple times a week with his handler, and cleared out the seagulls. In exchange for his services, he was given his own library card. And his ID picture is better than mine will ever be.

Bats

Though bats are pests in many contexts, the ones who live in a Coimbra, Portugal library are welcome and necessary staff. Part of the night shift, these bats swoop through the stacks to eat gnats, flies, and more bugs that would otherwise destroy the rare books housed in the library. The bats have made the library their home since at least the 19th century. Every night, librarians cover the stacks with a cloth made from animal hide to protect the books from bat guano (poop), then pull the cloth away in the morning and wipe up the guano left behind on the floor. (No news on how they clean the cloth.) A fair price to pay for the preservation of centuries of knowledge.”

Check out the rest of this article here, along with all the cute photos!!

Have you had animals in your library – invited or unexpected guests? Tell us about it!!