August 18, 2026

Baker and Taylor, the Library Cats of Nevada

They joined a small town library for pest control and accidentally became two of America's most famous library cats.

Baker and Taylor were not exactly born to be models. The bright studio lights actually freaked them out, and the photographers made them nervous. Neither cat seemed too keen on posing. This was a bit of a problem since their faces were about to show up in libraries all over the country.

Before the posters and photo shoots, Baker and Taylor had a pretty practical job. These two Scottish Folds joined the Douglas County Public Library in Minden, Nevada, back in 1983 when the library itself was still fairly new. Just a year earlier, the place had been an alfalfa field, and some old residents hadn’t gotten the memo, mice and voles remained around the property, along with black widow spiders. So, the cats got to work.

They would sit by the windows and growl whenever they spotted any mice or voles outside, while Baker got really good at catching spiders. Jan Louch, a former librarian, remembered Baker as a “superb spider hunter.” It seems like both cats were right on target with the jobs they came to do.

The names Baker and Taylor came from a book distributor, and Louch thought they fit the cats’ personalities well. Baker was "kind of doughy" and looked like a baker, while Taylor was tidy and put together, more like a tailor.

They were surprisingly well-mannered library employees. Louch recalled that they didn’t mess up the books or papers. Sometimes they would paw at things or shuffle papers around just because they wanted a spot to sit.

Then someone had the idea to use them to promote the library. So, Baker and Taylor started showing up in photos and posters, which was initially just a small marketing stunt. The cats weren’t too thrilled about their new gig. Even though they were pretty chill most of the time, the studio lights startled them, and they hated most of the photo-shoot process.

The photos ended up being a hit. The posters took off and became popular in libraries across the country, turning these two working cats from a small Nevada library into well-known faces in the library community. They went from pest control to marketing stars.

Baker and Taylor kept living at the library as their fame grew. Baker passed away in 1994 after over a decade there, and Taylor passed away in 1997. They were buried right in front of the library, with plaques honoring their unique contribution.

Their story even got turned into a book, too. Jan Louch and writer Lisa Rogak published The True Tails of Baker and Taylor, telling the story of these two cats and the small-town library they unexpectedly helped make famous. It’s quite the second act for two cats who originally showed up just to take care of the mice. And judging by the photo shoots, Baker and Taylor probably knew that they nailed two jobs.

Animals with jobs

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