The last free-ranging library cat in Illinois

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Newby, the library cat at Nippersink Public Library in Richmond. His name is short for Newbery, as in the Newbery Medal for children's literature, and his hobbies include sitting on the fax machine and playing fetch. "He is very fond of the UPS guy, who always stops to rub his ears," says library director Cynthia Cole. (Patti Elstner)

Even before you enter the stately limestone library with leaded glass windows and copper-colored trim, you see signs of the local celebrity. Not at eye-level — look lower, and there, hovering in the shadows behind the glass door, are two ice-green eyes, staring up at you with frank curiosity.

You may recognize those emerald orbs from the Stacks the Library Cat mugs, the T-shirts or the photos at the Litchfield Public Library website. But if not, their owner will be happy to introduce herself, pushing her head under your hand, rubbing a silky black flank against your leg, leading you, fluffy tail trailing at half-mast, to the polished wood circulation desk where she does her best work.

Stacks, believed to be the last full-time, free-ranging library cat in Illinois, hops onto the desk, stretches out luxuriously and falls into her signature near-snooze, a restful state that invites pats from shy tweens, curious senior citizens, even a 1-year-old who proclaims ecstatically from her mother's arms, "Like cat!"

That's a popular sentiment in this town of 6,900 set amid cornfields 250 miles southwest of Chicago, but in the larger world, library cats face an uncertain future.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/pets/ct-library-cat-new-family-0722-20160720-story.html