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January 15, 2006

Tabby cat Libby draws students to South Putnam Junior/Senior High School library

By Sue Loughlin

Libby the Library Cat grew tired of her toy, so she jumped off the table and playfully hid in a bookstand.

The barely visible tabby cat reclined on top of a dictionary and peered down as the junior-high school students giggled at her antics.

“She is improving her vocabulary,” said Dana Wood, an eighth-grader at South Putnam Junior/Senior High School in Greencastle.

When the lunch period ended, the students left, and Libby left her hiding place to sit by the library door to wait for more students.

Libby loves her students, and they love her in return. Some days, she’ll have several hundred students shower her with attention in the school library.

Over Christmas break, Libby missed them so much, she lost three pounds, quite noticeable for a small cat.

“The library used to be a place where no one wanted to come,” said Sue Woodall, the school librarian.

That has changed dramatically. “This library came alive with Libby,” said Woodall, who, along with her daughter, found the abandoned, hungry and flea-infested kitten along U.S. 150 near Shirkieville in fall 2004. The rain poured that night, and the kitten “cried like a banshee,” she said.

Even before Libby purred her way into the hearts of South Putnam students and staff, several eighth-graders wanted a library cat and appealed to the principal for permission.

Then came Libby.

After some trial runs at school and some training, Woodall and Principal Robert Smith realized the docile, people-loving Libby had the perfect personality for the job; she became the school’s library pet and much more.

“When she was with the kids, it was just a natural affinity,” and Libby was right at home in the library, Woodall said.

She inspired the Libby Club, which later evolved into Libby PAWS (Pet and Animal Welfare Society). Through PAWS, students have learned how to care for and respect animals and many volunteer at places such as the Putnam County Humane Society.

Libby has worked a few quiet miracles at South Putnam. Because of her, some students who may have abused animals — or at least talked about it — have changed their attitude, and now they find homes for abandoned cats and dogs.

Libby has provided therapy for students with disabilities, motivating one student in a wheelchair to use a new walker to go to the library; the student has cerebral palsy. A child with autism has bonded with the sympathetic, once-homeless tabby.

Libby has helped many disenfranchised students feel connected to the school. “We have so many kids who need the comfort of a cat,” Woodall said. With Libby around, students feel more at home in their school.

Libby also helps students with emotional and discipline problems. Her unconditional love goes a long way. “It’s amazing that a few pounds of fur and flesh can do all this,” Woodall said.

At least one student with anger-management problems visits the library and spends time with Libby to help calm his emotions.

The initiative has brought academic benefits, as well. Some students say they read more, and others are more motivated to do their school work when they go to the library. Rather than distracting them, Libby helps them stay focused, said high school sophomore Krista Larson.

Also, book circulation increased dramatically following Libby’s arrival, Woodall said.

Students aren’t the only fans. “Teachers will come in for a Libby fix,” Woodall said.

Principal Smith is a strong proponent of Libby the Library Cat and what she’s done for the school. “I think it’s had some very profound effects for students that traditionally would not be in the library or use the library,” he said.

Initially, Smith had some concerns about students and families who are allergic to cats. “Those have proven fruitless,” he said. Woodall uses a product on Libby that helps control dander and allergic reactions.

The Libby PAWS club includes about 60 junior high and high school students. Among them is high school junior Nick Toby, who joined the Libby Club last year and was often teased about it.

The teasing didn’t bother him. “I just blew it off,” he said. He was persuaded to join by two girls and he has no regrets.

“A cat brings — I don’t know the words — warmth and love,” he said. Another student helped him find the right words.

Libby has changed Toby. Before, “I couldn’t stand cats,” Toby said. Now, he has a cat of his own.

As he and other members of Libby PAWS spoke, Libby sat in a basket, resting in preparation for the many visitors expected during three lunch periods. When she’s in her basket, students can pet her but not hold her.

When she’s in one of three sleeping boxes, she cannot be disturbed, according to PAWS rules established for Libby.

High school senior Drew Brothers is another member of Libby PAWS. “You can get stressed out around here. One way to wind down is to come here and play with Libby,” he said. He visits during his lunch period.

On a given day, Libby might see 300 students, and usually not less than 100 to 150.

People who visit Libby “are in a better mood,” Brothers said. “The ones that don’t come in here are crabby all day.”

High school junior Rebecca Pilkins, a library assistant, was an officer in the Libby Club last year and plans to be active in Libby PAWS this year.

“We laugh more because of Libby’s tricks, and laughter is a stress releaser,” said Pilkins, who admits she tends to bash the school too much.

Libby has helped Pilkins improve her sometimes negative attitude. Libby also comforts her when she worries about her boyfriend, who is in the military and might have to go to Iraq.

Before Libby, “The library was just so dull — sorry, Mrs. Woodall,” Pilkins laughed.

She loves Libby’s antics. “Sometimes she’ll walk on the keyboard when I’m trying to enter books into the computer,” Pilkins said.

Libby loves to chase untied shoe strings and tossed paper wads; she can’t resist crawling into recycling bins. She has a routine, and each morning she does a patrol that includes a cat walk along the tops of the library shelves. “She makes sure it’s safe for the kids,” Woodall said.

While Libby still has claws, she has been trained not to use them and students are asked not to poke at her or put things like pencils in front of her. The Library Cat Society, of which Libby is a member, requires that library cats keep their claws for their own safety.

Libby actively participates in classes conducted in the library, visiting students, “helping” them with their papers or sitting on top of their books.

When students play chess, they sometimes let Libby make the moves. Checkers is a different story. “She has no inhibitions. Pieces fly,” Woodall said.

Libby received her name through a schoolwide election that garnered about 600 votes, although some students preferred the name Sput, a nickname for South Putnam.

The school, which includes grades 7-12, has about 690 students.

Because of their involvement in PAWS, many students are doing activities on their own now, taking care of animals, helping them find homes or volunteering at the Humane Society. Some families who never would have considered doing so before are now spaying or neutering their pets.

This year, PAWS plans to take Libby to one or more nursing homes, and the club will take a field trip to the Humane Society to clean cages, wash and walk dogs or whatever else needs to be done. The club visited the Humane Society last year, as well.

Libby has provoked some controversy. The decision to spay her stirred debate; some students wanted her to have kittens.

The library cat also sparked an anti-Libby group involving students who believed the cat received entirely too much attention. Woodall met with one of the anti-Libby students and explained to her what Libby’s role really is — to help students as a therapy cat and to bring attention to the plight of other animals who are abandoned or mistreated. The anti-Libby group disappeared, Woodall said.

Last spring, rumors spread about a conspiracy to shave Libby during senior prank week. Nothing ever happened, but Libby’s caretakers watched her extra carefully.

Libby goes home with Woodall to Terre Haute each evening, but Woodall says Libby does not belong to her; the attention-loving feline belongs to South Putnam. Woodall plans to retire this year, but the goal is for Libby to remain the school’s library cat under the care of the new librarian.

At lunchtime on Tuesday, Libby had a steady stream of visitors. Some wanted to play with her, others just wanted to pet or hold her; to hold her, they must first seek Woodall’s permission.

“Bye, Libby,” said one student as she left the library.

At one point, Libby sat in her basket, resting, but with a watchful eye toward her students. One of them, Krista Larson, carried the basket over to a table at the other end of the library. She wanted Libby by her side as she did research on meditation — something Libby appears to have mastered.

Libby the Library Cat tends to be quiet and serious by herself, but “she lights up with her kids,” Woodall said. “Where else for a little bit of cat food can you get so much love for students?”

Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.

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