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Tony Miksak's
Words on Books
as broadcast weekly on KZYX radio

Dewey Readmore Books

To order any of the books mentioned in this article, see the links at the bottom of this page.

So, Joselyn. You and your book group have been reading a book about a famous cat. Who is Dewey? Dewey, Cheatam & Howe like on Car Talk?
Dewey's full name was Dewey Readmore Books. He resided at the Public Library in Spencer, Iowa. And he made quite an impact on more than just the library staff; but everyone who came into the library and beyond. He actually became very famous.
Well I'd never heard of him or his book.
It starts a little slow. I mean, I thought, anybody can write about how they found their cat. Then it got better. Then it got into small town community stuff. Then it got into psychology and then it got deeper into Dewey. What a great cat.
Dewey arrived in the drop box as a kitten on the coldest day of the year and it was a wonder that he survived. They recovered him, gave him a hot bath, dried him. They couldn't even tell what color he was he was so dirty. He was in really bad shape.
They decided to keep him at the library, which became his home. So the book is about the adventures of Dewey in the library and actually a time when he escaped.
If he was living there, why do you say he "escaped"?
The librarian would take him home sometimes, and he got a glimpse of the outdoors and the air and everything and he smelled it. And when he was returned to the library sometimes the doors would open and he'd smell that wonderful smell and he wanted to go outside and explore, so he managed to escape out the automatic doors.
What's important about Dewey is his sensitivity to people and his awareness of people who were depressed or down on their luck. He'd find people who needed to be found and he would sit in their laps. He'd give them attention. Including special ed kids, homeless people, someone who had a sadness in the family. Dewey managed to locate the persons in need and comfort them as a cat would, by sitting on their laps.
Did he drool?
I don't know. He probably did.
He also was into the routines of the library. For instance, two minutes before the library opened he would post himself at the front door to greet the first arrivals. There was a huge increase in the number of people coming to the library because of Dewey Readmore Books. They'd ask about him. Everyone felt a sense of ownership in the cat, because Dewey made everyone feel special.
Were the other cats jealous?
There weren't other cats. You have to look at the whole community of Spencer, Iowa. They had a huge fire that burned most of downtown, the economy was down, people were leaving, it was kind of depressing, and suddenly there was new life in the community because of Dewey. Just his presence was influential beyond the library.
It's like our local library, the Mendocino Community Library. They just wrote in the paper about getting back on track financially. They need help. Expenses are up up up and memberships are down down down. They need a Dewey.
Dewey was famous far and wide. A Japanese film crew filmed him, and he was in cat magazines and he became famous.
Did it go to his head?
No.
How do you know?
He never was like an aloof, snooty cat. He was persistent in what he felt was right. People would try to keep him out of meetings, and he'd yowl until they let him in. He had a routine of greeting every single person at the big table and deciding who he would sit on, and no one could predict who it would be.
Dewey had so many places to explore in the library it was always amusing to find where a tail might pop out, or an ear. Where's Dewey? He had certain regular places, but he also managed to explore and find all sorts of new places to hide and be found.
Oh, one more thing about Dewey. He was extremely tolerant of children pulling at his ears and tail, very tolerant. When the offending child would come in he would make himself scarce, but he never scratched or anything. He was a good boy. He was a gooood boy.

Aired Sunday October 5, 2008 at 10:55 am and Wednesday October 8, 2008 at 1:00 pm

Orders/Information:

Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron. Grand Central Publishing hardcover $19.99. ISBN 0446407410.
Of COURSE Dewey has his own web pages: http://spencerlibrary.com/deweybio.htm
If you can help the Mendocino Community Library get back on track, please join the library or call 707-937-5773 and simply say "I want to help the library." Donations, or volunteer work, they appreciate it all. Thank you.

Copyright © 2008. All materials posted here are copyright protected. Please do not copy or distribute without contacting Tony Miksak for written permission.