Library books and bed bugs

[Anonymous]

I have worried about this but it hasn’t stopped me from using the library. I read my kids library books in bed and have never had a problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I leave the library books in a hot car for a day. In the sun it gets up to sth like 140 deg, which should be enough to kill anything

That’s not likely doing anything than melting the glue in books. Sorry. It takes a high dry sustained temperature, your car would likely have too much humidity in it.

[Anonymous]

I put my library books in sealed plastic for 48 hours before I read them.

[Anonymous]

Between me and my kids, there have been thousands of library books in my house over the years, and I've never even considered this. Frankly, the joy of reading far outweighs the slim possibility of bedbugs.

That said, most libraries have always been pretty vigilant about pest control, because there are lots of things like silverfish that eat paper. Librarians have been trained to look for signs, and have access to facilities that can decontaminate any books that may have been infested. Unless your library is particularly sloppy in this area, chances are they'll spot and shut down any problems fairly promptly.

[Anonymous]

When I lived in NE, the city library got bedbugs. They had to shut down for a week and did the heat treatment.

I've been hesitant to borrow books, since.

[Anonymous]

How do you know your kids friends don't bring bedbugs or roaches in their stuff during sleep overs?

[Anonymous]

I had bed bugs when I was a grad student. I quarantined my library books in my work office for a year and then returned them. One was an inter library loan that was recalled. I tried to explain to a librarian about the bed bugs and why I had put the book in my work office on campus for so long. She didn't care and I was charged a lot of money. While I did the right thing for the university library (my home one and the lending one), if i had known a bonehead university librarian would have been such a jerk about me keeping bed bugs out of the library, I would have saved my self hundreds in library fines and returned the darn book. I don't trust library books after this because while I did the right thing, it is up the library to take care of their books.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had bed bugs when I was a grad student. I quarantined my library books in my work office for a year and then returned them. One was an inter library loan that was recalled. I tried to explain to a librarian about the bed bugs and why I had put the book in my work office on campus for so long. She didn't care and I was charged a lot of money. While I did the right thing for the university library (my home one and the lending one), if i had known a bonehead university librarian would have been such a jerk about me keeping bed bugs out of the library, I would have saved my self hundreds in library fines and returned the darn book. I don't trust library books after this because while I did the right thing, it is up the library to take care of their books.

You did not return the book on time. Hence, fines.

Why on earth did you not return the book, explaining the situation? You can’t just take matters into your own hands, because you think you’re smarter than people who know how to address the problem correctly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had bed bugs when I was a grad student. I quarantined my library books in my work office for a year and then returned them. One was an inter library loan that was recalled. I tried to explain to a librarian about the bed bugs and why I had put the book in my work office on campus for so long. She didn't care and I was charged a lot of money. While I did the right thing for the university library (my home one and the lending one), if i had known a bonehead university librarian would have been such a jerk about me keeping bed bugs out of the library, I would have saved my self hundreds in library fines and returned the darn book. I don't trust library books after this because while I did the right thing, it is up the library to take care of their books.

Hmm..Don't they just count it as lost and charge you for the price of the book and not add up fines?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had bed bugs when I was a grad student. I quarantined my library books in my work office for a year and then returned them. One was an inter library loan that was recalled. I tried to explain to a librarian about the bed bugs and why I had put the book in my work office on campus for so long. She didn't care and I was charged a lot of money. While I did the right thing for the university library (my home one and the lending one), if i had known a bonehead university librarian would have been such a jerk about me keeping bed bugs out of the library, I would have saved my self hundreds in library fines and returned the darn book. I don't trust library books after this because while I did the right thing, it is up the library to take care of their books.

Librarian here--it was not your university librarian who was the "bonehead" it was the librarian at the other end of the interlibrary loan. If they both knew the book had bedbugs, the librarian at the other library that the book came from should have stopped charging fees. Sounds like they didn't, so the university charged you.

I don't really worry about library books that much. The only place I have encountered bed bugs in the DC area is in a clothing store dressing room. Will never use a carpeted room to try on anything again. Thank goodness bugs love to bite me and I react fast, so I knew what happened before I brought the clothes I bought into the house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I put my library books in sealed plastic for 48 hours before I read them.

That does nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How do you know your kids friends don't bring bedbugs or roaches in their stuff during sleep overs?

I suppose in they could, however, they are not frequently sleeping at homeless shelters and poorly maintained apartment complexes like many library patrons of large cities. But I realize anyone can get them anywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you know your kids friends don't bring bedbugs or roaches in their stuff during sleep overs?

I suppose in they could, however, they are not frequently sleeping at homeless shelters and poorly maintained apartment complexes like many library patrons of large cities. But I realize anyone can get them anywhere.

Nice hotels can have them too.

[Anonymous]

I know that DCPL definitely has has some issues with bedbugs in books.