When a Mayfield Library patron reported finding a bedbug in a book last week, officials called an exterminator to determine whether there was a larger problem at the branch.
The results were negative, but Cuyahoga County Public Library spokeswoman Hallie Rich said the library takes a proactive approach toward pests.
"We are certainly cognizant of bedbugs and pest control overall," she said. "We've seen incidents of bedbugs in recent years, but we've been proactive in our pest control methodologies."
Rich said there have been bedbug incidents at the Mayfield, Fairview Park and Warrensville Heights branches in the past year.
"When we receive a material that is questionable, we isolate it," Rich said.
She believes those incidents were isolated. The library placed bedbug traps in those branches, but never found any more.
National publications like Time and The New York Times have reported similar incidents in which the bugs hide in the spines of hardcover books and hatch their eggs there.
"We understand that we need to be vigilant, and we have a protocol in place for doing that," she said.
