Some Good News for Libraries

There's some good news for libraries. According to research conducted by Batelle, a private non-profit R&D company, common library materials should be safe three days after being exposed to coronavirus. In other words, if libraries leave returned books quarantined for three days, they should be OK to reshelve. 

Scientists put the coronavirus on the cover of hardcover books, the cover of paperback books, plain paper pages inside a closed book, mylar protective book cover jackets, and plastic DVD cases.

After just one day in an environment with conditions similar to a typical air-conditioned office space, the virus was undetectable on the covers of both types of books and the DVD case. After three days, the virus was undetectable on the paper inside a book and mylar book jackets.

“If they get a book back from the public, they simply have to quarantine it for three days in a temperature-controlled area,” Richter says, “and the virus will naturally die on its own.”