[Young Adult and Children's Services Discussion List] Warm and Fuzzy Animals NOT Recommended

[Kimberly Usselman]

I'll third that.  I booked them a couple years ago when they were new (were
they in a showcase one year?).  I remember not being very impressed
afterwards, and having some communication issues with her.  I haven't had
them back.

On Wed, Feb 19, 2020 at 12:51 PM Renee Perron <rperron17 at gmail.com> wrote:

> I can second that. Had a similar experience when we hired her for a
> program a couple years ago at the Pawtucket Public Library.
>
> Renee Perron
>
> On Wed, Feb 19, 2020, 12:39 PM Rashaa Al-Sasah <rashaa at wwpl.org> wrote:
>
>> Hi everyone,
>>
>> I just wanted to warn anyone thinking to book her for programming that I
>> just had the worst experience with a presenter. Nancy was hired by Anne
>> Mclaughlin just before she retired for a program this morning and she
>> ensured and advertises that there is no cap on the audience, I had been in
>> contact with her the past two months and we had discussed all of this prior
>> to today. However, when she arrived this morning I was told we were only
>> allowed 25 kids at a time and she would not budge on this, I offered her
>> several options for seating as well as assistance from myself and
>> other staff for the program but she refused. We had probably 150 kids show
>> up which our room can accommodate and we have had animal performers in the
>> past handle the large crowds like this without issue. At one point She even
>> kicked several families out of the room but I insisted that they go back
>> and there were still several empty seats in the room at this point. I asked
>> if we could extend and have more kids in each session to
>> accommodate everyone. She agreed but when I had a group of 50 kids come in
>> for the second group she announced that there would not be any petting of
>> the animals. Several people left at that point upset. I also had 75 more
>> people waiting. She had agreed to do another group for $100 more but that
>> was not going to work for me if she was not allowing them to pet the
>> animals! So we had to turn away the remainder of the families. She was
>> extremely rude to me, my staff and the families. She yelled at several
>> little ones for getting out of chairs. It was really very bad overall. We
>> are now having to do extra work apologizing to everyone for this as it was
>> not what we had agreed to nor what she advertises on her presenter
>> directory page.
>> " Note: If the audience is large, we improvise and have a few
>> presentations during the time allowed so everyone has a chance to pet the
>> animals." Above is from her page however she told me that she would not
>> be willing to accommodate everyone who was here and she also did not let
>> them pet the animals. I also don't think she is well suited to work with
>> young children as she wished everyone to remain in chairs and listen to her
>> talk about how she breeds rabbits which she then told parents they could
>> purchase from her. It was overall just a very terrible experience.
>> I hope your February vacation is going better!
>> Best, Rashaa
>> --
>>
>>
>>
>> *Rashaa Al-Sasah, MLISHead of Teen ServicesPronouns:She/Her*
>> *West Warwick Public library *
>> *1043 Main St.*
>> *West Warwick, RI 02893*
>> *401-828-3750 ext.2*
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-- 

~ Kimberly Usselman ~

"Because that's what Hermione does,' said Ron, shrugging, 'When in doubt,
go to the library." - J.K. Rowling, *Harry Potter and the Chamber of
Secrets*
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