Melville the Ghost Cat

Hundreds of libraries around the world have animal mascots, and cats are especially popular. Dewey (named after Melville Dewey, creator of the Dewey Decimal System) is probably the most famous library cat. Resident at the Spencer Public Library in Iowa for 19 years, he was immortalized in a book which will soon be turned into a movie.

Perhaps the best kept secret at the Buena Park Library is that we too have a resident cat. The only thing is… no one has ever seen him!

The rumors of a ghost cat haunting the library date back more than 30 years to when our current building opened in 1969. The first reported incident involved a librarian who was alone in the machine room in the basement when she saw a pair of glowing eyes in the shadows. Since then, employees often feel that they are being watched when they are alone downstairs.

There are also stories of hearing strange sounds in empty rooms. Two librarians reported hearing small footsteps running by and feeling a disturbance in the air, as if something was rushing past their legs. A worker in the administration offices saw a potted plant move as if something was brushing up against its leaves.

Where did the ghost cat come from? Why does he haunt the library? No one knows for sure although there are a few theories - some of them downright creepy. We prefer to think of our ghostly pet as a happy, friendly spirit. Perhaps he belonged to a family who lived near the site in the days before the library moved in? Perhaps he just loves the library? He has certainly been here longer than any of our current staff members.

Many of us have thought wistfully of having a library cat like Dewey, I know I have. But it wasn’t until a recent conversation with a coworker about ghost stories and ghost sightings that it finally occurred to me… we already have a library cat! Indeed, he offers certain advantages over a real live pet - we don’t have to pay for cat food, we don’t have to clean out a litter box, and shedding and pet allergies are not an issue.

So I decided right then and there that we should adopt the ghost cat as the library’s unofficial mascot. Since “Dewey” was already taken, I decided to dub him “Melville.” And, a moment after stating this to my coworker, a notebook standing on a nearby shelf at the information desk fell over! I like to think that Melville was showing his approval. Or he might have been using the shelf as a scratching post, who knows?

Artist’s Rendering of Melville

More…

Mental Floss: 8 Library Cats

Library Cats Map

History of Library Cats

Willard Library Ghost site

Related Viewing

Los Angeles Times Bestseller List for Fiction: November 27, 2011

1. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
Don't let appearances fool you in the multilayered narrative about loyalty and loss.

2. 11/22/63 by Stephen King
A man goes back in time to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

3. The Litigators by John Grisham
A burned out attorney joins a down-and-out firm in taking on a pharmaceutical company.

4. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
A love triangle between recent Ivy League graduates.

5. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
A middle-age retiree re-evaluates his mediocre existence.

6. Inheritance by Christopher Paolini
Will justice be restored to Alagaesia in this conclusion to the Inheritance cycle?

7. Zero Day by David Baldacci
Army Special Agent John Puller investigates a brutal crime scene in a small coal mining town.

8. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
A year in the social life of three twentysomethings set in jazz-age New York City.

9. Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
Two alternating stories, 50 years apart both leading to the American Museum of Natural History.

10. The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
New battles await Percy Jackson as he returns to a Roman half-blood camp.

Los Angeles Times Bestseller List for Non-Fiction: November 27, 2011

1. Blue Nights by Joan Didion
In this follow-up to her memoir "The Year of Magical Thinking," Didion tells the painful and personal story of her daughter's death in 2005.

2. Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson
A portrait of the late Apple visionary as revealed by those in his inner circle.

3. Back to Work by Bill Clinton
The former president's blueprint on how to revive our economy.

4. Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero by Chris Matthews
The newest bio of JFK reveals another side by those closest to him.

5. Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
The dramatic events in the spring of 1865 leading up to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

6. Unreal Estate by Michael Gross
The secret history of the private enclaves and mind-boggling estates of Los Angeles.

7. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
The story of Louis Zamperini, a World war II bombardier, POW and Olympian.

8. Go the F.... to Sleep by Adam Mansbach
A comical not-for-kids picture book on the perils of bedtime.

9. The Table Comes First by Adam Gopnik
A journey in search of the true meaning of food in our lives.

10. The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick by Philip K. Dick
The final work of the man who dedicated his life to questioning the nature of reality and perception.

Library Closed for Thanksgiving Holiday

The Buena Park Library will be closed on Thursday, November 24th and Friday, November 25th in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday. We will be open regular hours on Saturday, November 26th from 10 am to 5 pm.

Librarian's Words are Binding

Steve Lopez, a columnist with the Los Angeles Times, recently wrote a column about libraries and also talks about his son, who happens to be a librarian.

Lopez believes that: "Libraries are a public good and a civic responsibility." He continues by saying that "There's a critical symbolic value to libraries as well. Their very existence tells us that books are so vital to our intellectual well-being that we keep them on display in special buildings and pass them between each other, as if they were community treasures."

Read more by clicking here.

Los Angeles Times Bestseller List for Fiction: November 20, 2011

1. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
Don't let appearances fool you in the multilayered narrative about loyalty and loss.

2. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
A love triangle between recent Ivy League graduates.

3. The Litigators by John Grisham
A burned out attorney joins a down-and-out firm in taking on a pharmaceutical company.

4. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
A middle-age retiree re-evaluates his mediocre existence.

5. The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje
A young boy's sea voyage in the early 1950s from Sri Lanka to England.

6. The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
New battles await Percy Jackson as he returns to a Roman half-blood camp.

7. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
The complicated nature of relationships revolving around a gifted college baseball player.

8. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
A tale of Ernest Hemingway and his first wife, Hadley, set in 1920s Paris.

9. Zero Day by David Baldacci
Army Special Agent John Puller investigates a brutal crime scene in a small coal mining town.

10. Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
A year in the social life of three twentysomethings set in jazz-age New York City.

Los Angeles Times Bestseller List for Non-Fiction: November 20, 2011

1. Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson
A portrait of the late Apple visionary as revealed by those in his inner circle.

2. Blue Nights by Joan Didion
In this follow-up to her memoir "The Year of Magical Thinking," Didion tells the painful and personal story of her daughter's death in 2005.

3. Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero by Chris Matthews
The newest bio of JFK reveals another side by those closest to him.

4. Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
The dramatic events in the spring of 1865 leading up to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

5. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
Unscientific observations on romance, friendship, and Hollywood from "The Office" actress/writer.

6. Go the F.... to Sleep by Adam Mansbach
A comical not-for-kids picture book on the perils of bedtime.

7. The Time of Our Lives by Tom Brokaw
"The Greatest Generation" author offers reflections and inspiring stories of people making a difference to show how we can restore America's greatness.

8. The Garner Files by James Garner and Jon Winokur
The life of the actor who played wise-cracking antiheroes.

9. Boomerang by Michael Lewis
How the financial crisis transformed Global economies such as Greece, Ireland and Iceland.

10. In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
Complex ties between the U.S. ambassador's family and the Nazi elite in 1930s Berlin.

News About the Library World

The Huffington Post has a new series on "Libraries in Crisis".

Here are two excerpts from the site:

Taken from The Daring Librarian blog:
Why Librarians Should be More Like Lady Gaga
"We need to be more like Lady GaGa than Lady Bird Johnson. We need to establish a clear, pervasive, vibrant, and involved presence in their school, community, and on the web. The more visible librarians are the less likely that they’ll be taken away. Those teacher librarians who are hiding their brilliant programs under a bushel, that’s when they’re most likely to get cut."


From Andrew Losowsky (Books Editor at The Huffington Post):
Why It's Time to Speak Up for Our Libraries
"If information is power, then public libraries are the essence of democracy and freedom. Yet they are under threat from a litany of cuts.
In June 2010, New York librarians staged protests against proposed budget cuts totaling $37 million. They called their campaign "We will not be shushed."
The time has come for libraries to speak up."

For Children: Just Add Books

The Little Librarian kit provides children with everything they need to start their own little library. It even comes with little check-out cards! Little Librarian was selected as a finalist for the Disney Family Fun Magazine Toy of the Year Award for 2010.The package includes 7 mini file folders, 15 book pockets, 15 book cards, 4 library cards, 4 reading awards, 2 bookmarks, 6 overdue slips, and 1 reading journal. Just add books to make it a real library. Read more about it here.

Great Things Happening at NoveList

Looking for more books like your favorites? Want to find a new author? Can’t remember all the titles in a series? NoveList Plus has the answers! The Buena Park Library provides reading recommendations from NoveList right inside our catalog – just search for a book in the catalog and look for the “From NoveList” area.

Just click the link for NoveList Plus on the Library's website at www.buenaparklibrary.org. Or visit the Buena Park Library and ask a librarian!

You may have already heard the news, but there are great things happening at NoveList:

• Goodreads Now Available: All of the NoveList databases now include reader ratings and book reviews from Goodreads. This partnership brings the content of Goodreads, the largest social network for readers, into NoveList, the most popular readers’ advisory service among librarians. Readers and librarians now have access to a combination of resources that provide the most complete readers’ advisory service available.

• Easier to Find Read-alike Content: We have made it easier to find all of the great read-alike content in NoveList. In addition to the NoveList Read-alikes located on the right side of every Title, Author, and Series Detail page, we have added links to Title, Author, and Series Read-alikes at each record in the search results.

• Easy to find Author Information: Author information is located in one easily accessible location. Just enter the author name in the search box and go to the Author Detail page where you can find author read-alikes, author descriptions, a list of all of the books by that author, and a list of all the series by that author (if applicable). See our Help pages for additional information about author read-alikes in NoveList.