Hurray: The Cats & Dogs and Library Staff Survey!

Well this was so much fun. I wondered if it was really true that librarians were cat people. So we did a small poll on this blog. Almost 500 of you responded to the survey. Thank you! That’s the most I’ve had to date on the polls on this blog.

It was inspired by the way most of us learned Boolean logic online searching . . .

And the eagerly anticipated results are . . . .

drumroll . . .

Cat’s win but not by a lot.

Here’s more detail but you should note that there is more colour in the comments. We had one respondent who has 17 cats! That’s one big litter budget!

And lordy some of you have some interesting pets! I see that some of you have a spouse as a pet! That’s great – maybe you don’t even need to leave a water bowl and extra food down for them when you go to a library conference.

Here is a selection of the comments that add more colour to librarians and their pets:

The local wildlife 😉
Currently I have 17 cats but used to have 5 dogs
Hermit crabs
3 hens and 1 rooster
cockatiels
parrots
I *love* dogs, but don’t have one (yet)
Rabbit
2 finches and 2 fish
2 rats, 1 chicken
3 parrots
Fish
we had 1 cat
One (cat) that just died two days ago at the age of 18..
chickens
No pets yet, but would pick cats
Since the dogs outnumber the cats, I consider myself a dog person.
husband
I am between cats
2 chooks
Guinea pigs
tropical fish
no pets currently, but I prefer cats
I think of myself as a dog person even though I currently have cats and no dog!
I’m a dog person but have no pets at all due to allergies.
I have 3 cats and 3 dogs
my ex-wife and kids and the cats
guinea pig, frogs
3 horses (down from 4 cats due to natural end of lifespan over time)
five fish
fish, and ferrets in the past
6 fish, 1 hamster
I prefer dogs over cats.
2 Very Cute Gerbils
horse, fish
I have had 4 gets in the past.
I am a dog person
Rabbit, fish
rabbit
Goat
I keep a bunch of squirrels well fed behind my house…

My favourite comments were on the blog post:

“So far dogs are winning! That doesn’t surprise me at all. Sure, we can all conjure up an image of the stereotypical introverted “cat lady” librarian adjusting her glasses and working overtime alone (except for the cat). But the profession shed that old image decades ago. These days we come in all shapes and sizes. We have many interests. We tend to be extroverted (the better to lead programs and advocate for funding). And we rarely sit still. Any self respecting cat would be turned off by all that rushing around (not to mention those dancing videos we keep producing).”

“Dogs are more conducive to the typical librarian’s active lifestyle. Their loyalty and affection provide comfort when the going gets tough (such as when we learn our budgets have been cut). And, like us, they adapt to change easily when called upon to do so, which is often.”

“Besides, dogs are more fun to read to. Hence all those Reading to Rover programs.”

“I wonder if there is a difference between public services and technical services librarians. Except for a stint as a law firm librarian–not a position that requires one to “like people”–I have always worked behind the scenes in technical services, first in digitization, and now as a rare book cataloguer (I know, one extreme to the other). I am most emphatically a cat person and one of the votes for “I have 3 or more cats” (4, at present). I like their quiet, independent nature, their cunning, and their discrimination. Dogs are sweet, but WAY too needy for me. Cats can be comforting, too. If I could choose a “super-power”, it would be the ability to purr, which is the most soothing sound in the world to me. I’ll have to admit though, that one can read to cats, but the cats probably won’t listen!”

“Have and like are not the same though, yes? I voted true, that I have 1 lovely cat, but I also quite like dogs and call my dear friend’s Huskie my “nephew”!”

“Dogs rule! We have both dogs and cats, but the cats are kind of “accidental” pets. The dogs, we got on purpose. Yes, the dogs are more needy. But it’s fun to be greeted by 3 grinning creatures who are THRILLED that you’re home every time you walk in the door. The cats could care less, except when it’s time for their dinner. The dogs even recognize my old running shoes – when I come down the stairs with those in my hand, they know we are going for a walk in the fields behind the house and they are super excited.”

“I am definitely a cat person. I’ve had 2 Burmese brothers for 10 years. They are independent thinkers, smart, loving & very loyal. I have always talked to them & they really do understand. Mostly they do what they’re told. A slight change in the inflection in my voice & they respond. I’m not a librarian & am married to one & am a library photographer.”

“I enjoy both! However I noticed many in the library circuit are mad about those cat books…..Dewey, Oscar, Sneaky Pie Brown…”

And my father’s dog, Maggie May repsonded too: “As you know I have a human, Don or Dad to you, and two neighbours Max and Scamper who visit via a doggie door and We Rule. We are a family of voracious readers versed in the arts of K9ology . The Cats next door are an impediment that” we shall overcome”! . I snuck on the computer to paw this and altho it is from Maggie May’s Humans Desk, Don’ll sign it………..”

“Library staff must all be cat people, because they are always letting the cat out of the bag.”

Thanks for participating. It was fun to do a fun poll and I got to learn a lot more about using this survey software (PollDaddy) and you can expect to see more polls in the future. I am also learning more about SurveyMonkey too. In fact I have one coming up soon on library user ‘Hobby Activities’ in reference work. Watch for it. Maybe we can break the 500 respondent mark set by ths poll.

Stephen