The Bats Help Preserve Old Books But They Drive Librarians, Well, Batty

A 300-year-old library’s resident bats eat the bugs that devour glue and paper, but they’re attracting more interest than the literature; ‘The questions are nonstop’

COIMBRA, Portugal—During the day, as visitors file through the University of Coimbra’s 300-year-old Joanina Library, the creatures remain hidden behind the grand, gilded bookcases.

At night, they come out to protect the books.

They are a group of perhaps a dozen resident bats. As lovers of literal bookworms—they eat the moths and beetles...