Many libraries have suffered bed bug problems in the past; and just last week, the Russell Library in Middletown, Connecticut and the Central Library in Wichita, Kansas both closed due to bed bugs.
In Middletown, WTNH reported, bed bugs were found in several items:
A bed bug was discovered in a DVD case and another area in the adult section prompting the city to close the main branch and ask folks to return items in plastic bags so materials can be examined.
Here’s a video from WTNH:
(If the video does not load, you can watch it on the WTNH website.)
More after the jump.
Patrons in the video seem perplexed that bed bugs could be found in a library, but keep in mind that an item like a DVD case sitting around on a sofa or near a bed could certainly transport a bed bug back to the library.
The WTNH reporter cites a local librarian’s association suggesting summer travel as a risk factor, but people can also get the bugs in other ways. It should not be assumed they were picked up outside of Middletown!
On Friday, WTNH reported that the library was back open, and officials claimed no live bed bugs or viable eggs were detected by the canine scent detection team that was hired to search the library.
The Wichita Central Library also closed last week after a patron found a bed bug in a chair, according to KWCH News. The library was closed while a search was conducted for more bed bugs — which have now been found in chairs in two reading areas on two different floors. Chairs are a common place bed bugs are found when they’re detected in libraries — in other cases, they’ve also been found in computer areas, returned items, and the book drop.
According to KWCH, officials in Wichita cancelled library meetings for this week and they expect to know more today about when the library will re-open, but patrons are being allowed to access the lobby to return items and pick up reserved material.
KWCH reports that an anonymous caller bizarrely told 911 in Wichita on Saturday that the libraries bed bugs were brought in by “Muslim homeless” terrorists. The claim is not being taken seriously and is almost certainly spurious, not to mention absurd, racist and classist.
And very poorly timed, given the horrible tragedy that occurred yesterday in Wisconsin. Our hearts go out to the people of Wisconsin and the wider Sikh Community.
You may also be interested in previous Bedbugger.com stories on bed bugs in libraries.
Update 8/7/2012:
The Wichita Central Library reopened Tuesday morning, according to KWCH news.
