STERILISING BOOKS

Dunstan Times, Issue 2087, 23 July 1901, Page 3

STERILISING BOOKS

In some public libraries it is now Ihe custom to sterilise all the books as a precaution against contagious diseases. " Public library books of every city should be sterilised," said an eminent doctor, lately.

"It would be easy and inexpensive to fumigate them with formaldehyde vapor. There would be no labor about it to speak of. because 500 books could be sterilised at a time. There is nothing easier for disease germs to adhere to than books. 1 believe many contagious diseases have been spread by the means of public library books. Dailv reports should be received at the library and the branches from the health officers of till new cases of contagious diseases." said one librarian, commenting en the scheme. "Any books which may have been issued at the time to such families should be returned at once, taken in charge by the health officer, and if, in his opinion it is advisable, they should be destroyed. Moreover, books that have been in houses where there, is smallpox should be sent to the health officer, and stamped in such a, way that if. bv any chance, one should get away from him, it would warn all who read it that it had oeen thus ex'posed. As a matter of fact it should be destroyed: though in some cases a. second process of sterilisation might be resorted to. Libraries everywhere could fix up a disinfecting room at small cost, send every book there as soon as it was brought in by the person to whom it had been lent, disinfect it with formaldehyde vapor, and return it to the shelves, to be again lent out. Besides scarlet fever, there are many other germ diseases, such as measles, diphtheria, typhoid, smallpox, and so on. There is no easier way to spread disease than through the medium of books, and no better way to stop the spread than by the disinfecting of these same books."