The Great Blue Heron Sculpture

Several weeks ago a Library staff member attended a conference to learn how to identify and deal with bedbugs. She returned and set up procedures to identify and treat any bedbugs in our building.

That preparation paid off.

We identified a bedbug in an area of the Library that receives books from other libraries on Tuesday morning, December 18. We removed and segregated the items in that area, and had the entire Library tested yesterday and this morning.

The whole Library was found to be free of bedbugs except for two books on the second floor that were identified as likely having been exposed to live bedbugs, and one chair on the mezzanine. We removed and segregated all the books on those shelves, and discarded the chair. All affected items will be heat-treated in order to definitively kill any bedbugs.

From this time on, we will heat-treat all items received from other libraries before they are allowed into the collection, and we will continue to monitor the building with periodic testing to make sure it remains free of bedbugs.

The bottom line is that the process we have in place worked, and the Library is free of bedbugs.

If you have any questions, please call Alan Gray at (203) 669-5224.