WESTLAND, Mich. – The first bedbug issue was first identified at the Westland library in 2013 and since then, officials have been looking into whether they can legally ban families identified as bedbug sources from borrowing books from libraries.
As of now, when you return a book to a library in Westland, an employee wearing gloves in a lab coat carefully puts each book through a process in an attempt to eliminate any infestations. Staffers start by heating the books for at least an hour.
"It kills them. It has to be at least 120 degrees to make sure the bugs will be killed, that's where the temperature needs to be at," said Mary Lesniak, who works at Faust Library in Westland.
When bedbugs were first noticed in 2013, the library board put an aggressive plan into action to deal with them. That plan, former employee Leigh-Ann Hensley said intentionally left the public in the dark about the problem.
Employees said they had to sign an agreement not to mention library bedbugs on social media.
When asked about the secrecy of the infestation, Mark Neal, president of the Library Board of Trustees said he was worried that residents would be hesitant to pay a visit to the library.
"Yes, certainly. Absolutely. One of our concerns was the opinion of people as well," Neal said. "There’s not a single person out there that if you told them you might encounter a bed bug here, they wouldn’t’ say 'Gee whiz, I really want to go to the library.'”
Employees of the library urged managers to alert the public of the potential nuisance; it's unclear
if they will follow through with those requests.