Sometimes a librarian goes from “between the covers” to more of an “undercover” approach to their career. This is where I currently find myself. Buckle up.

Hey, here’s a real current events topic in (especially public) librarianship, these days – BED BUGS. If you aren’t a library worker, were you even aware that this is the case? If you are a library worker… same question?

Why are bed bugs different?

Per the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), while not a public health crisis (because they aren’t known to carry or transmit disease), bed bugs are very much a “public health pest.” They feed on blood, infest an area quickly, are adept travelers, and have bites that can cause skin irritation. The Bay County Health Department in Michigan has a great fact sheet that describes the potential physical symptoms of bed bug bites. Reader beware.

There has been a significant increase in the frequency and severity of bed bug infestations in the United States in recent years and across the globe. Folks were understandably nervous about traveling to Paris for the Olympics in 2024 because of a 2023 outbreak. Bed bugs are also notoriously difficult to eradicate once an area has an active infestation. The EPA posits that this is in large part due to their skill as hitchhikers and also because education on how to avoid them is often limited to folks who are already infested. Often because of early stigma associated with bed bugs and claims that they signify a lack of hygiene of cleanliness (which is absolutely NOT the case), people are hesitant to acknowledge potential infestation in their home. This leads to denial and a lack of ability to identify and trace infestation in communities.

Those are the BB basics.

How does this relate to public libraries?

Glad you asked.

I work in a mid-size Midwestern college town. The population is predictably transient and ebbs and flows greatly with the flow of the university’s schedule. Housing situations change accordingly. Because of the growth of the university, the surrounding area is also struggling significantly with the provision of affordable housing for middle-to-lower income folks. Rent is insanely expensive. Apartments and homes are owned by many predatory landlords who take advantage of a desperate situation (and aren’t usually interested in assessing and treating pest problems). Many people find themselves frequently forced to choose between homelessness or paying rent for deplorable living conditions. These folks often turn to library services for help gathering resources and information, not to mention making use of library facilities and programming. If your home is swarming with bed bugs that leave itchy welts and trails of blood down your legs in the night while you sleep, you likely need the mental/emotional respite of listening to a Colleen Hoover audiobook more than most, says I.

Now for some behind-the-scenes librarianship.

In grad school, we are taught that one of the most important tenets of library and information service is patron privacy. Did you know that? The American Library Association has its own privacy-specific interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights on its website. We hear about it a LOT. It affects policy and procedure at every single level of library service, from our commitment to protect patron data and information from law enforcement without proper documentation to including in our behavioral guidelines that patrons are not to film or record each other without express permission. We want every single person who uses library services to feel unencumbered by fear of retribution or judgment because of how or why they choose to experience our resources. It’s the basic “they might not use the library like you do or read the stuff you read but that’s their right” sort of approach. It’s at the core of who we are as information professionals. It is a large part of our ethical foundation. We protect it – sometimes at our own expense.

Here’s the thing: it’s messy. Patron privacy, pests, people.

There is NOT an “easy” solution to this problem. We as librarians end up at the front lines of many battles and in this one, we really are in the trenches. My place of employment has protocols and procedures that are constantly evolving that help protect our patrons, our resources, and our staff but every situation is unique.

Do we err on the side of protection? That often looks like “outing” patrons to other staff in order to provide a heads-up about possible infestation.

Do we err on the side of privacy? That puts staff in a position where they often aren’t able to assess the level of risk in a situation and to decide if it’s reasonable.

Library professionals aren’t excited to incur the risk of pest infestations but for most of us, the idea of a situation in which we are completely unable to serve our patrons is unacceptable. In the end, the answer is somewhere in the middle – in an uncomfortable, tricky grey area. We need support from our administrations while we determine what level of risk is acceptable and we need the public to have faith that we are doing the behind-the-scenes work to protect everyone involved. We also need awareness that bed bugs are everywhere and affect everyone, regardless of socioeconomic situation – the difference in perception happens because people with more money can afford to treat them!

So do me and all the other Undercover Librarians a big favor and spread some awareness!