Library books and germs

CupOfChai

If I bought every single book I'd ever read I would by now be very poor with about as many books as the British Library.

I don't think they're usually that bad, as someone said, bacteria grow in a warm moist environment and a book is usually too dry. Although the less said about that one where I found a sweet stuck in the pages the better!

jackyann

public health studies have actually been done on library books - and of course they don't harbour harmful germs.
I wonder about the age of the worrier - until about 50 years ago libraries did ask people not to borrow books during a contagious disease (such as smallpox......)

Good, well stocked libraries are of course, a mark of a civilised nation (could you mum possibly say that with a straight face?)

kitrat

Deary me, you start to wonder how people think the human race made it this far. Library books for goodness sake, what germs exactly are they harbouring that are going to be so terrible? If it's possible to catch an illness from a library book, then it'll be so prevalent you'll have caught it sooner off of a door handle or just breathing in the air at work/home.

iammumtoone

I do hope this hasn't put your mum off reading the books. I remember when I got my Nan a large print book from the library she was over the moon, she loved reading but had to stop due to her eyesight and was thrilled she had something she could read.

Another option would be a kindle / ereader as you can change the text size on them, my Nan would never have used one she wouldn't have understood it and loved books, but if your mum is good with technology might be an option as she could read a wider range of books.