Showing posts with label companionship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label companionship. Show all posts

Thursday, June 6, 2024

Librarian’s Pet: Public libraries add robotic animals to their collections; American Libraries, May 1, 2024

Rosie Newmark , American Libraries; Librarian’s Pet: Public libraries add robotic animals to their collections

"Liz Kristan wanted to bring four-legged friends to patrons who needed them the most.

Kristan, outreach services coordinator at Ela Area Public Library (EAPL) in Lake Zurich, Illinois, knew that the presence of pets has been associated with health benefits like reductions in stress and blood pressure. In 2022, she introduced robotic pets to the library’s collection, taking them on visits to assisted living and memory care facilities to entertain older adult residents.

“We’ve seen people with advanced dementia in near catatonic states actually light up, smile, and begin speaking when we place a pet in their lap,” Kristan says.

Libraries like EAPL have been adding these animatronics to their collections in recent years to bring companionship and health benefits to patrons, especially older adults. Compared with live animals, robotic pets require less upkeep and pose fewer allergy concerns. They are interactive and often lifelike, with some reacting to touch by purring, meowing, licking paws, barking, panting, and wagging tails."

Tuesday, January 30, 2024

Where's the best place to find a robot cat? The library, of course; ZDNet, January 27, 2024

Chris Matyszczyk, , ZDNet; Where's the best place to find a robot cat? The library, of course

"As Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) reported, the library's customers are involved in a festival of adoration when it comes to these three black-and-white robot felines...

Here's Manistee County Library in Michigan with a veritable array of robotic pets. Cats, dogs and even a bird...

Let's now drift to the Hastings Public Library, also in Michigan. There, just beneath Botley the Coding Robot is: "Robotic Cat. Coming January 2024."

Now you might be wondering what the rules are for going to your local public library and taking a robot cat home with you.

Helpfully, the Reading Public Library in Massachusetts offers some guidelines...

It seems, then, that America's libraries have become homes for robot cats. They bring peace and companionship to many. And that's a good thing."