![]() Any new policy, she said, would require the library clearly show why a given citation was necessary. She said libraries often get taken to court when their policies on limiting access to the library are too general. Yes, bed bugs can live in books because the living conditions in books are almost ideal for them. The bugs are considered a public health pest, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, and while they have not been shown to transmit disease, the bugs bite, leave feces where they stay and can trigger allergic reactions.Ĭooper said policies that limit access to public libraries have been challenged in court, which is why she said she has sought advice from multiple attorneys including Town Attorney Mark Gearreald. "It's not a matter of if a facility will get bed bugs, it's a matter of when," said Glenn Waldorf of Bell Environmental Services in the association's article.īalancing the right to visit a public library and the need to protect the public from bed bugs is one Cooper and trustees say is not taken lightly. The New York Library Association published an article this year referring to the increase in bed bug cases as a "bed bug epidemic," which it said has been observed in libraries this year from New York to Ohio to Arizona. She said the policy is based on a state law allowing landlords to require tenants who get bed bugs to show through testing that they have eliminated the infestation.Ĭooper said bed bugs are on the rise in public spaces like libraries. She said the policy is still in draft form and could change. 13 meeting that could require those who return books with bed bugs to obtain documentation showing the vermin have been removed from their home. However, the general public does underestimate the number of libraries who have dealt with this issue, especially in larger cities. The space was determined to be safe by someone who specializes in pest removal, she said.Ĭooper said the library trustees will now be given a policy to approve at their Nov. Regardless of what side of the issue you fall on, borrowing a book with bed bugs is a rare situation and not a risk that should prevent people from using libraries. The desk where the books were placed and anywhere the books made contact were cleaned with alcohol, which kills the bug as well as any eggs, she said. ![]() 21, according to Lane Memorial Library director Amanda Reynolds Cooper, and have since been thrown out. The bed bugs were discovered while library staff were checking books returned Sept. Pest control experts state that the incidence of bed bugs in libraries is still low but it always pays to be careful.HAMPTON - Library trustees are weighing whether people returning books with bed bugs inside their pages should be temporarily banned after the vermin turned up at the return desk last month. Libraries are now being proactive by inspecting books and treating furniture. The books were immediately isolated and placed in quarantine. That’s because bedbugs have discovered a new way to hitchhike in and out of beds. In July 2022, two libraries in Sacramento, California, found bedbugs in their books. READING in bed, once considered a relatively safe pastime, is now seen by some as a riskier proposition. The bedbugs are then found in the chairs, sofas, and computer stations.Īlthough the Denver incident occurred in 2009, the problem is still very prevalent in 2022. In this case, the bugs hitch a ride on their clothing or belongings. Another way that bedbugs enter libraries is through people such as those who are homeless and tend to spend long hours in libraries. The incident at the Denver Public Library highlights the most common way for bedbugs to enter libraries - when a patron's home is infested with the bugs. ![]() The replacement cost of the books was $12000 and the fumigation cost was $6000. Libraries dont make very good homes for bedbug infestations, as there are no sedentary victims in a library at night. Four areas of the central library had to be fumigated. The library became infested and 31 books were destroyed.
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