Interesting discussion with a school librarian

[bdgan]

I asked her how school was going and she told me that study halls are now in the library instead of a classroom. Kids sit at their own desk and if they want a book they order it online and the librarian brings it to their desk.

Here was the surprise. She told me that once a library book was touched it had to be wiped down, then taken out of circulation for a 4 days. I would have never thought about people catching the virus from touching a book.

On a related matter, we have friends in New York State who flew out of state to visit their son's new baby. When they returned they had to sign a letter promising to quarantine for 14 days. The form had information like their home address and car license plate number. A few days after they returned they got a phone all telling them in a somewhat threatening way that they better not be seen at a nearby Wegmans location or on the golf course in their community. I'm not surprised that they would put car license plates into a database but I would have never suspected calls to the house by somebody who has looked at the community on Google Maps.

 

[MtNittany]

Her employers are insane, obviously.

 

[Op2]

Here was the surprise. She told me that once a library book was touched it had to be wiped down, then taken out of circulation for a 4 days. I would have never thought about people catching the virus from touching a book.

That sounds like the best argument ever for e-books.

 

[manatree]

Four day quarantine is pretty much standard for all library returns, including at Penn State. It is also one of several reasons why our stacks are closed to the public as well. If you’re into test results, etc., the link below is what many libraries are using to inform their decisions.

Reopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums (REALM) Information Hub: A COVID-19 Research Project

Also, not everything is digital which really hurts some of the course reserve books that are only available on paper. We check them out for 24 hours, but they still have to be quarantined for four days before they are available to be checked out again. Since we’re closed Sat & Sun, it could take six days.

 

[ACGT]

Her employers are insane, obviously.

If it was the employer, they would already know their address. Could it have been NY state?

 

[marshall23]

Virus? What virus.....its insane!

 

[SR108]

I asked her how school was going and she told me that study halls are now in the library instead of a classroom. Kids sit at their own desk and if they want a book they order it online and the librarian brings it to their desk.

Here was the surprise. She told me that once a library book was touched it had to be wiped down, then taken out of circulation for a 4 days. I would have never thought about people catching the virus from touching a book.

On a related matter, we have friends in New York State who flew out of state to visit their son's new baby. When they returned they had to sign a letter promising to quarantine for 14 days. The form had information like their home address and car license plate number. A few days after they returned they got a phone all telling them in a somewhat threatening way that they better not be seen at a nearby Wegmans location or on the golf course in their community. I'm not surprised that they would put car license plates into a database but I would have never suspected calls to the house by somebody who has looked at the community on Google Maps.

Just talked with a mom of a PSU freshman. The current rules regarding curfews, weekends, and dorm visitations are pretty draconian as well. hopefully freedom will return if we can ever rid ourselves of this current pandemic.

 

[Nitt1300]

Virus? What virus.....its insane!

sunshine will end it- when is summer coming?

 

[BBrown]

I asked her how school was going and she told me that study halls are now in the library instead of a classroom. Kids sit at their own desk and if they want a book they order it online and the librarian brings it to their desk.

Here was the surprise. She told me that once a library book was touched it had to be wiped down, then taken out of circulation for a 4 days. I would have never thought about people catching the virus from touching a book.

On a related matter, we have friends in New York State who flew out of state to visit their son's new baby. When they returned they had to sign a letter promising to quarantine for 14 days. The form had information like their home address and car license plate number. A few days after they returned they got a phone all telling them in a somewhat threatening way that they better not be seen at a nearby Wegmans location or on the golf course in their community. I'm not surprised that they would put car license plates into a database but I would have never suspected calls to the house by somebody who has looked at the community on Google Maps.

Thats the way it is at my local library. I will say that MD or at least Harford County has an excellent Library system. I can go online request any book, DVD or CD and it will be sent to my local branch. Our library still isn't open inside but you can request a time slot and then go to the drive through window and they will hand you the items in a sealed bag. Its really pretty streamlined as works well.
When you return the book or items, they are held out of circulation (not sure for how long) but it is so they can be "wiped down".

 

[bison13]

I'd touch a library book that had the coronavirus on it before I touch some of the text books that students return after sitting in their bedroom for 9 months.

 

[Obliviax]

this is one of those interesting "leftover" issues from when we knew little of the virus that has proven false. The chance of transmission from a "hard surface"...well, here is WebMD from Sept 3rd:

So can you really catch COVID-19 from touching a cereal box you bought at the supermarket, or a package delivered to your door?​

​

It is theoretically possible, but highly unlikely, says Dean Blumberg, MD, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis Children's Hospital. "You'd need a unique sequence of events," he says. First, someone would need to get a large enough amount of the virus on a surface to cause infection. Then, the virus would need to survive long enough for you to touch that surface and get some on your hands. Then, without washing your hands, you'd have to touch your eyes, nose, or mouth.​

 

[Langmuir]

The surface transmission issue is way over blown imo. It just seems like institutions feel like they have to say they are doing something.

 

[The Spin Meister]

sunshine will end it- when is summer coming?

Go to Chinatown! Its great there.....nothing to fear.

Go to NYC plays and restaurants!

Banning travel from China??? What a racist! What a xenophobe!

 

[lavarmav]

The surface transmission issue is way over blown imo. It just seems like institutions feel like they have to say they are doing something.

It is insane and actually unnecessarily costly. There is yet to be a confirmed case of Covid in the entire world from surface transmission. People are nuts

 

[CF LION]

So......was she hot?

 

[81b&w]

This pandemic is no excuse for late returns!

 

[nits74]

View embedded media

This pandemic is no excuse for late returns!

OK, Joy Boy.

 

[nits74]

Go to Chinatown! Its great there.....nothing to fear.

Go to NYC plays and restaurants!

Banning travel from China??? What a racist! What a xenophobe!

Just nothing more than the common cold as I learned early from many on the board.

 

[The Spin Meister]

Just nothing more than the common cold as I learned early from many on the board.

Or Dr Kuptia on CNN with Anderson Cooper.

 

[sunshinedynomite]

sunshine will end it- when is summer coming?

Did you call for me?

Sorry

 

[bvillebaron]

Just nothing more than the common cold as I learned early from many on the board.

Then you need to work on your reading comprehension skills. I am certain posters who expressed those opinions were comparing Covid to the flu.

 

[marshall23]

Nothing to fear.....after the election the plague will vanish...or so I'm told.

 

[LionDeNittany]

Nothing to fear.....after the election the plague will vanish...or so I'm told.

You should stay scared and holed up. It works for you.
Also, I know statistics scare you so please remain completely oblivious of the facts.

Good luck!

 

[marshall23]

You should stay scared and holed up. It works for you.
Also, I know statistics scare you so please remain completely oblivious of the facts.

Good luck!

Nothing to fear.....but fear itself.

 

[PSU2UNC]

Here was the surprise. She told me that once a library book was touched it had to be wiped down, then taken out of circulation for a 4 days. I would have never thought about people catching the virus from touching a book.

This is absurd and not based on science. Surface transmission is highly, highly unlikely and has never actually been documented as a vector for covid19.

 

[LionDeNittany]

Nothing to fear.....but fear itself.

No, you have a lot to fear.
Stay in your basement. Be scared. Ignore science.

LdN

 

[marshall23]

No, you have a lot to fear.
Stay in your basement. Be scared. Ignore science.

LdN

I'm not afraid of a cold. This is all just one big hoax. Anyone who died from COVID would have/should have died anyway, right?

 

[LionDeNittany]

I'm not afraid of a cold. This is all just one big hoax. Anyone who died from COVID would have/should have died anyway, right?

Everyone dies... so your last statement is somewhat correct. Other than that everything else you said is a lie. Including you not being afraid of a cold, as you likely are completely afraid of a cold.

Let's get back to the point though. You should continue to ignore science and numbers. Numbers are difficult for you, I understand.

Stay in your basement. Stay afraid.

LdN

 

[marshall23]

Everyone dies... so your last statement is somewhat correct. Other than that everything else you said is a lie. Including you not being afraid of a cold, as you likely are completely afraid of a cold.

Let's get back to the point though. You should continue to ignore science and numbers. Numbers are difficult for you, I understand.

Stay in your basement. Stay afraid.

LdN

Let the bodies pile up on the sidewalks outside the small businesses.......keeping them open "trumps" everything. Everyone dies anyway.

 

[LionDeNittany]

Let the bodies pile up on the sidewalks outside the small businesses.......keeping them open "trumps" everything. Everyone dies anyway.

Yes. Keep it up.
There are piles and piles of bodies. PILES!
Stack them up in front of the MILLIONS of small businesses that are open. Like 100 high!

You are safe in your basement.
Blah blah blah TRUMP or whatever you were trying to say with the stupid political comment.

Ignore science. Science and statistics are your enemy! You know better because you are in your basement.

LdN

 

[marshall23]

Yes. Keep it up.
There are piles and piles of bodies. PILES!
Stack them up in front of the MILLIONS of small businesses that are open. Like 100 high!

You are safe in your basement.
Blah blah blah TRUMP or whatever you were trying to say with the stupid political comment.

Ignore science. Science and statistics are your enemy! You know better because you are in your basement.

LdN

200,000 not enough to quench your thirst?

 

[LionDeNittany]

200,000 not enough to quench your thirst?

Keep it up! Maximum fear.
Enjoy the basement because that's where you should stay!
Whatever you do... DO NOT GO OUTSIDE! Piles and PILES of bodies!

LdN

 

[marshall23]

Keep it up! Maximum fear.
Enjoy the basement because that's where you should stay!
Whatever you do... DO NOT GO OUTSIDE! Piles and PILES of bodies!

LdN

Fear is a great motivator.

 

[PSUSignore]

Four day quarantine is pretty much standard for all library returns, including at Penn State. It is also one of several reasons why our stacks are closed to the public as well. If you’re into test results, etc., the link below is what many libraries are using to inform their decisions.

Reopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums (REALM) Information Hub: A COVID-19 Research Project

Also, not everything is digital which really hurts some of the course reserve books that are only available on paper. We check them out for 24 hours, but they still have to be quarantined for four days before they are available to be checked out again. Since we’re closed Sat & Sun, it could take six days.

If someone were to contract a disease in the stacks, odds are it won't be from touching a book.

 

[manatree]

If someone were to contract a disease in the stacks, odds are it won't be from touching a book.

The stacks aren't closed because a patron might contract a disease from touching a book, they are closed because there is no way to enforce patron masking in the stacks. Which in theory could expose all the books in the stacks. It's much easier to enforce masking to the employees that are accessing the stacks.

Closing stacks also allows us to retain access to HathiTrust’s Emergency Temporary Access Service (ETAS). Last spring, in response to the Covid-19 crisis, HathiTrust launched ETAS making 8.4 million digitized volumes available in full text to its membership regardless of the member’s individual contribution. This represents about 48% of the Penn State print collection. Meeting the Fair Use conditions means we cannot circulate the corresponding print version of a volume at the same time we allow digital access. So, it's either pull every physical copy on the Hathi ETAS list from the stacks and store it elsewhere, or close the stacks.

 

[PSU2UNC]

The stacks aren't closed because a patron might contract a disease from touching a book, they are closed because there is no way to enforce patron masking in the stacks. Which in theory could expose all the books in the stacks. It's much easier to enforce masking to the employees that are accessing the stacks.

Closing stacks also allows us to retain access to HathiTrust’s Emergency Temporary Access Service (ETAS). Last spring, in response to the Covid-19 crisis, HathiTrust launched ETAS making 8.4 million digitized volumes available in full text to its membership regardless of the member’s individual contribution. This represents about 48% of the Penn State print collection. Meeting the Fair Use conditions means we cannot circulate the corresponding print version of a volume at the same time we allow digital access. So, it's either pull every physical copy on the Hathi ETAS list from the stacks and store it elsewhere, or close the stacks.

I think you missed the joke about catching a disease (not covid19) in the stacks.

 

[PSUSignore]

I think you missed the joke about catching a disease (not covid19) in the stacks.

 

[manatree]

I think you missed the joke about catching a disease (not covid19) in the stacks.

I didn’t miss the joke, I was just giving legit reasons to keep the stacks closed to the public

 

[PSU2UNC]

I didn’t miss the joke, I was just giving legit reasons to keep the stacks closed to the public

OK, but that's like if I said "Take my wife....please" and you started to lecture me on divorce law and kidnapping statutes.

 

[lions1995]

Thats the way it is at my local library. I will say that MD or at least Harford County has an excellent Library system. I can go online request any book, DVD or CD and it will be sent to my local branch. Our library still isn't open inside but you can request a time slot and then go to the drive through window and they will hand you the items in a sealed bag. Its really pretty streamlined as works well.
When you return the book or items, they are held out of circulation (not sure for how long) but it is so they can be "wiped down".

Howard County is the same way. The Library system is excellent. We do not have a drive thru, at our branch, but they have sent up the entrance vestibule with tables and they place a stapled bag on the table with your name on it. You stop by and pick up your bag.