Bacterial and fungal contamination in the library setting: a growing concern?

Abstract

With an increased number of media reports indicating pathogenic contamination of books, there is a need to investigate the potential for library environments as a source for vectors that transmit infectious disease. Review of current literature indicates the presence of bacterial and fungal pathogens in library air, books, and surfaces. Many of the pathogens found have been associated with severe respiratory illness and skin infections. Although the presence of pathogenic microorganisms has been confirmed by many studies, there is currently no regulation in place for the inspection of library environments. Further studies exploring the health of workers and library users, coupled with guidelines and legislation, can contribute greatly to the health of the public and occupational health of public libraries worldwide.

The diversity of indoor airborne molds growing in the university libraries in Indonesia

“…Flannigan et al (2011) and Alhussaini et al (2015) also state that the three members of the molds are commonly found indoors and outdoors. Harkawy et al (2011) and Hempel et al (2014) also found the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium in libraries but did not find genus Cladosporium. They didn't find other molds found in this study, namely members of genera Byssochlamys, Cadophora, Eurotium, Emericella, Xeromyces, etc.…”

Microbiological Deterioration Survey of Historical Parchment in Different Institutions

“…Based on macroscopic ( Hempel et al (7)and PG Kalaskar et al (8),which both shown that the most common species identified in infected manuscripts were Aspergillus and Penicillium. In general, many studies showed that these two previous species were also more common in different manuscripts type like papers (8) and textiles (10).…”

“…The mean microorganisms which can attack the writing material, especially the parchment or vellum, are the fungi and the bacteria, but the principal onesare the microfungi (7), which are widespread organisms and can be found anywhere because of their resisting forms (spores) that present in 20 thousand to 2 million fungus sporesin 1m³ of air (8). These spores grow and spread when the environmental condition, like the temperature, pH and humidity, are favourable (9).…”

Natural ingredients for a bacteria-free library collection

“…Various library studies carried out across the world have found the existence of bacteria-contaminated collections, despite all the precautions taken against this (Hempel et al, 2014; Leite et al, 2012; Singh, et al, 2011 and Skóra, et al, 2015). Such contamination can also have adverse effects on the health of library users.…”