As a child in England I remember (somewhat hazily) the warnings against
dirty/tatty library books, because they may have carried diseases such
as scarlet fever.
Certainly, when in charge of the Lending Department of Oldham public
library (Lancashire) c.1961/62, I was once instructed to send a couple
of books which had been returned by a family where a case of infantile
paralysis (polio) had been reported, to the local authority's Public
Health Department for "treatment" (I think that mean destruction, but
am not sure now). I felt virtuous in insisting on handling the books
myself, and not allowing my assistants near! Ho hum!! (But isn't it
often natural for ignorance to be cautious? A case of flight from the
unknown?)
Edward R. Reid-Smith
============================================================
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 21:22:25 +0000
Subject: Re: [Fwd: Re: Hygenic libraries]
From: Sylva Simsova <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Cc: [log in to unmask],
"SHARP-L Society for the History of Authorship, Reading &
Publishing" <[log in to unmask]>,
Deana Heath <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-to: Sylva Simsova <[log in to unmask]>
In message <[log in to unmask]>, Peter Hoare <[log in to unmask]>
writes
>Any more examples of Hygienic Libraries for Deana Heath?
>
When I was a little girl, in the early 40s in Prague, one of the library
books I brought home contained a bed bug. My mother stopped me from
using public libraries. Bed bugs were considered carriers of dangerous
illnesses - typhoid, tb etc.
Presumably other readers did the same, so strong was the fear of
illnesses.
--
Sylva Simsova
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Edward R. Reid-Smith
2 Salmon Street
Wagga Wagga, NSW 2650, Australia
phone: +61 (02) 6921.4759
email: [log in to unmask]
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