A Cat Lived In A Public Library

Spencer Public Library, Iowa (+43.1406, -95.1438)

The Spencer Public Library had a famous resident for many years. In January 1988, someone dropped a cat in the library’s drop box. He was adopted by the library’s director and lived in the Spencer Public Library until dying in November 2006.

The cat was given the name Dewey (after the founder of the Dewey Decimal system, used in libraries). His full name was “Dewey Readmore Books” (read it out loud if you don’t understand the significance of the name). He became a celebrity as his story was shared through broadcast media.

After Dewey died in 2006, the library’s director (Vicki Myron) wrote a book about him, titled Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World. It was very popular, and spawned children’s adaptations and sequels.

We visited Spencer in October 2023 to see the library. As would be expected, there was a memorial to Dewey; additionally, there is a statue of him in his prime. The Spencer library has a page devoted to “Dewey the library cat”, where you can still buy products to support the library.