The Centre County Library & Historical Museum is a public library in Pennsylvania. What makes it special is its unusual employee whose main task is to attract new readers. Meet Horatio the cat who is taken care of by a librarian Lisa Shaffer.
The library has much to offer including books, paintings, cartoons, cookbook club, genealogical and local history resources, LEGO club, and children's storytimes. So everyone can find there something to his/her taste.
Unfortunately, the interest of readers has recently begun to wane. In order to attract visitors, Lisa Shaffer came up with an unusual idea.
The librarian decided to involve Horatio the cat. At first she simply photographed her cute pet next to books. Then Lisa began to add some simple attributes of fictional characters such as hats and bowties to make the image of the cat more recognizable. Gradually Shaffer introduced costumes which as a rule are hand-crafted.
Photos of Horatio are posted weekly on the library's Instagram with the hashtag #Caturday. Usually Lisa's posts coincide with certain events such as dates of book releases or authors' birthdays.
In some photos, Horatio looks so cute and funny that it is impossible to ignore the kitty and, of course, the book, which he promotes in such a way.
Horatio has lots of fans who want to see him in person and take a picture with him. The kitty poses willingly for photoshoots because he is rewarded for his work.
"Of course, he has to be rewarded and he knows it," his owner says.
By the way, Horatio isn't the only Lisa's pet. Schaffer takes care of six other cats as well. But it is Horatio who has been honored to become the face of the library. And his efforts are already paying off since the library's attendance has increased manifold.
Source: lemurov
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