Library Books & Flu Germs

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Library Books & Flu Germs

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1Hope_H
Gen 24, 2018, 10:07 am

I work in a middle school library in the Midwestern U.S. We have record numbers of kids out with colds, strep, flu, influenza A, and other yucky, germy illnesses.

Do I need to sanitize books as they come back in?

If so, what's the best way?

Cross-posting in the Librarians who LibraryThing group as well.

2shikari
Modificato: Gen 24, 2018, 2:21 pm

The only thing I can suggest - assuming you have already encased any bindings and used plastic wraps on the paperbacks - is to wipe the bindings of returned books with alcohol, as you might wipe your hands with it entering or leaving a hospital. Or an antibacterial wipe, I suppose: we use them occasionally at the charity bookshop I volunteer in, but only to remove grime (I’d rather use Sticky Stuff Remover, a solvent, but I work usually on the till and not with the dobations: if you used that a lot, I think you’d have to worry about your own safety and consider ventilation). There’s not much you can do with the book block itself.

3anglemark
Gen 24, 2018, 2:23 pm

There's some discussion here of how long viruses and germs survive outside the body: https://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/how-long-do-bacteria-and-viruses-live-outside-the-b...

4shikari
Modificato: Gen 24, 2018, 2:33 pm

I found this rather alarming paper from 1912 online. It does suggest TB might be transmitted by books, not a problem now, perhaps, but who known in the future. But to make sure they avoid the fate of the poor guinea-pigs, make sure your pupils don’t mainline their library books!

52wonderY
Gen 24, 2018, 2:40 pm

>4 shikari: Yes. Read Responsibly!

6abbottthomas
Gen 24, 2018, 2:51 pm

In the bad old days when scarlet fever was serious enough to require admission to an isolation hospital, my wife's mother would bake library books in the oven before allowing her little ones to handle them. I don't know what thermostat setting she used - just enough to gently crisp them I think.

A rather different line was taken with this book - https://www.librarything.com/catalog/abbottthomas&deepsearch=insecticide - in my library.

7lesmel
Gen 24, 2018, 3:39 pm

This online article (which actually has an excerpt from the 1912 article) talks about putting the books in the clothes dryer to kill bedbugs.
Mental Floss article posted in x-posted topic: https://www.librarything.com/topic/285460

8bernsad
Gen 24, 2018, 4:11 pm

>6 abbottthomas: OK, I'm intrigued, care to elaborate on the poisonous binding?

9abbottthomas
Gen 25, 2018, 3:52 am

>8 bernsad: I've never investigated it further, but I do wash my hands after holding it!

10shikari
Gen 25, 2018, 12:35 pm

You could, perhaps, keep returns from children with known illness out of circulation for a couple of months, with a postit with the date on it.

11davidgn
Modificato: Gen 25, 2018, 12:51 pm

>10 shikari: That would be unscientific, given the pathogens we're considering.

https://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/how-long-do-bacteria-and-viruses-live-outside-the-b...

48 hours is the longest credible survival time I've seen cited. If the kids have TB or diphtheria or MRSA, you have bigger problems...

12m.belljackson
Gen 25, 2018, 3:24 pm

Maybe we also need special gloves before opening the magazines at a doctor's office...?

13lesmel
Gen 25, 2018, 4:23 pm

>12 m.belljackson: Doctor's offices (that have magazines and toys that anyone and everyone touches 8+ hrs a day) should have better infection control than grocery stores (that have wipes for baskets).

14Hope_H
Gen 30, 2018, 9:02 pm

>11 davidgn: No TB or diphtheria reported! Actually, a lot of children (and adults) carry MRSA on their skin. At least that's what the burn unit folks told us when my daughter developed necrotizing fasciitis seven years ago.

>12 m.belljackson: You'd think that that would be the case, but I'm not sure it is. One time, friend who worked in one of our doctors' offices told us not to touch the toys - wash day was a few days away.

I'm thinking I'll go the "Chlorox Wipes" route.