You can find birds, bees, bats and owls in the pages of books at the Robert E. Kennedy Library. Sometimes, you can also see them flapping or buzzing in the stacks.
“I have caught them in my hand before,” said Holly Richmond, Interlibrary Services assistant.
Richmond has been working at the library for 13 years and has had to deal with birds on a few occasions during her career.
Sometimes sparrows, pigeons and small black birds get in through the second floor of the library, because the trees outside are so close to the windows, she said. Birds will nest in trees, then fly into the library, where they get stuck.
Birds outside the library gates will hop right through the front door but most often they are chased out by students or staff.
Harvey Mushman, a San Luis Obispo resident who uses the library’s computers two to three times a week, caught a dove on the fourth floor in late October. The bird was trapped and Mushman was trying to catch it because he didn’t want it to suffer from “flying into windows.” After a few seconds, he was able to catch the bird and safely release it out of the window.
Business administration graduate Kirk Story watched Mushman and said that the bird was in the building only for about 45 seconds.
Generally, food and warmth will draw birds inside the library. Bees will also come into the library because they are attracted to sodas.
To deal with the the birds, the library has a net. If the birds cannot be caught, staff will call facilities services or animal services when necessary, Richmond said. About 10 years ago animal services had to be called for an owl stuck in the atrium.
“The owl was really sad because owls can’t fly up, so he hit his head on the window and broke his beak,” Richmond said.
A bystander joked that the owl be taken to the science department to be stuffed and displayed, Richmond said. However, the owl was caught by animal services and taken to be treated for its injuries.
About five years ago, the library had another animal problem when bats were found roosting somewhere near the building. One bat was seen in the library by Richmond two to three different times in addition to multiple sightings by other students and staff.
Facilities services was called several times for the bat, and once a student volunteered to catch it. When the bat kept coming back into the building, animal services was finally called. They were able to catch the bat, and release away from campus grounds.
Occasionally, students will complain to library staff when a bird or other animal gets into the building because it is distracting when they are doing their work.
Leaving the library windows closed would make the situation worse off for all students and staff, because there would be no ventilation in the building.
The library was originally designed for air conditioning, so screens were not placed on the window. However, no air conditioning was installed so the windows must stay open. The absence of screens allows birds and other animals to get into the library where students and staff are hard at work.
“Because there’s no air conditioning we have to leave the windows and balcony doors open,” Richmond said. “We’re forced to leave open the doors and windows for ventilation.”