Do Library Return Books Need To Be Cleaned?

Question

After getting a romance novel with mystery stains, I'm uneasy. Do public library paperbacks get sanitized between checkouts to kill germs?

Debra D Joyce Ellison · Answer

Of course you don’t need to, but a quick wipe with a disinfectant cloth is greatly appreciated, especially for the covers and edges of items that are frequently touched. A little thought to keep shared items of all kinds clean and in good condition is much appreciated. I recently read a rather quirky collection of short stories called ‘DIRTY PAGES (A Short Story Collection)’. Again and again in the stories physical books are marked with various signs of previous use. In a few of the stories a found grimy old book even features as a central plot device. The dirty pages of a book are part of its unique character and even its beauty.

Yara · Answer

It seems libraries generally take cleanliness seriously. Returned books get wiped on surfaces when there are health concerns in the general public. Occasionally a library might even hold a book for a day or so and mark it as “quarantined” before it is returned to the shelves. Cleaning returned books isn’t meant to be a comprehensive cleaning of the item, but rather a practical gesture to help alleviate concerns of germs. (If one were to be of such a mindset to be uncomfortable with returned library materials, waiting a day or so to check the item out or simply wiping the cover of books in return would also suffice.)

Elise · Answer

Typically, returned books are handled with care and given a basic clean. Many libraries will wipe down hard surfaces such as book covers, and occasionally use a UV light on particularly popular items to detect any visible marks. A basic wipe with a damp cloth would also remove most grime from a book and is recommended for people worried about hygiene. However, libraries try to avoid using any method of cleaning a book that could harm it in anyway.

Addison · Answer

Many libraries lightly clean returned books, paying particular attention to the cover and areas that receive the most contact. They might use disinfectant wipes or spray. Although the cleaning is not thorough, it is better than nothing. However, most library returned books can be further cleaned at home and it is certainly better for the book than being left dirty. Libraries are wary of cleaning books with products that could harm them in the long term.

Holden · Answer

I work part-time at a local library and yes we do clean returned books, mainly covering and the edges of the spine. For hardback books we use disinfectant wipes and for paperbacks we sometimes spray a light dose of sanitizer as they get handled a lot and can collect a lot of grime.

During flu season, some libraries will stash returned books in a corner of the return bin for a day or so before reshelving them. (This is one of the few situations in which returned books are not processed immediately). If you’re exceptionally worried about flu germs, you could always wait a day or two before returning a library book and then checking it out again.

Grayson · Answer

I am a regular library user and therefore regularly return and borrow books. Since the start of the virus outbreak returned books are rapidly cleaned and on occasion even briefly placed in isolation to be on the safe side.

Similarly, many libraries have hand washing stations or sanitizer near the circulation desk. If you are still worried about germs, you can take a couple of minutes to wipe down the book with a disinfecting cloth before you take it home. Again, as libraries already take hygiene very seriously, a bit of extra caution on your part is also appreciated.

Kumar Roberto Daryanani Jauregui · Answer

Leaving your shoes in your trunk on a hot day for a few hours will kill any bugs inside and hopefully dry out any moisture. It probably won’t do anything for germs, but it’s a cheap “UV” shoe cleaner and it gets rid of any musty smells that your shoes have accumulated. It’s not really scientific, but it’s a habit of mine that I find sort of satisfying.

James William · Answer

Modern hardcover books with plastic-covered hardcovers can usually be wiped clean. Older paperback books and book dust jackets are much more delicate and need to be treated differently. I wouldn’t use a wet cloth to try to clean a vintage book’s dust jacket, for example. Instead, you might try to let it air out near an open window and hope for the best.

Shivangi Tiwari · Answer

A community trust – we trust the library to give us safe, readable resources, and they trust us to look after them without trying to destroy them. I expect a bit of wear and tear on anything I borrow – including a few germs that will already be present. Demanding full clinical sterility would break the social contract of the shared cultural resource and turn it into a clinical object – and I think a little trust on both sides is reasonable.

Lalah Sarip · Answer

A book that smells of perfume or of smoke is far worse than germs. Germs die within a short space of time, whereas smells linger for a long time and are very difficult to get rid of. On rare occasions, I have left library books in a sealed bag with some baking soda for a day or two. As I mentioned, cleaning for germs is not the same as ‘cleaning’ for smells, which is often neglected but is just as intrusive to one’s reading experience.

Pauline Hannam · Answer

That’s a very interesting question. So we should also try to return the books we borrowed in good condition? I won’t read a book in the bath and cover it in splodge marks, nor would I read a book whilst munched on greasy chips. That’s just common politeness. The library looks after the stock, we look after returning the books in good order. The cleanliness chain is started with the user.

Jack Dang · Answer

This line of thinking can quickly escalate to a point where one becomes overwhelmed trying to keep every surface in public clean of germs. Do we clean every DVD case, every magazine, every video game? The public computers? The chairs in the reading room? At some point we have to accept the germ-intrinsic nature of public interaction and manage our own personal hygiene. Focusing on germs in one book is like cutting down one tree in a very large and very germy forest.

Esther Nkya · Answer

So what is the policy in bookstores regarding used books? Generally they are sold without being cleaned first. So someone buying a 2nd hand paperback could be buying a book straight from the donor’s box where it was left after they had finished reading it. There is a perceived risk for owned books but an extreme fear for borrowed ones. I assume the risk of contamination to be about the same for both. This difference in perception most likely arises from a feeling of psychological ownership of the item. When something is on loan to us for a short time period then we feel more responsible for it than if it were ours for good.

Anitaa Mongelos · Answer

I trust the process the library uses to select new books more than I trust the process of returning old ones. A new book is unopened and looks brand new. But a book that has been in circulation for years could be any number of things. Because of this, I am more hesitant to read very popular and worn bestsellers than I am to read a quirky, newly-purchased book that has been checked out only a few times. There is clearly a different level of handling of new versus old books and therefore a different potential for grime.

Do Library Return Books Need To Be Cleaned?

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