SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Pearl's & Ruby's
  • Politics in Practice
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • *Best New Books*
    • Annual Best Lists
  • Reviews
    • One Star Review
    • Nonfiction
    • Toon Reviews
  • Articles
    • Authors
    • Link Du Jour
  • Covers
    • Covering the Newbery
    • Cover Curiosity
    • Unfortunate Covers
  • News
    • Books on Film
    • Morning Notes
  • Newsletter

June 19, 2018 by Travis Jonker

School Librarian Corner: Dirty Books. No, Literally, Dirty Books

June 19, 2018 by Travis Jonker   8 comments

giphy-downsized-2

The other day I read a Facebook post from a fellow school librarian in the midst of an end-of-the-year inventory. This librarian said it gets kind of gross when you touch all the books in the library.

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Tell me about it. If you’ve ever handled a bunch of library books, you can probably identify. Your hands don’t always end up looking dirty, per say, but it definitely feels like you’re wearing invisible germ-gloves and if you don’t wash them pretty soon you’re tempting fate. I’ve even joked about this in the past.

So I guess this post is asking two things:

1. Does this happen to you?

2. Do you ever do anything to de-germify books?

Filed under: Articles

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments

About Travis Jonker

Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

A Fuse #8 Production

How To Say Goodbye in Cuban: Excerpt Reveal PLUS Q&A with Daniel Miyares

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Godzilla: Skate or Die | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

Our Mock Newbery List is Up to 52 Titles

by Steven Engelfried

Politics in Practice

When Book Bans are a Form of Discrimination, What is the Path to Justice?

by John Chrastka

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Happy Birthday, Anne of Green Gables. I have a present for you…, a guest post by Rex Ogle

by Amanda MacGregor

The Yarn

Behind the Scenes of a Caldecott Honor Winning Book: Molly Mendoza and Aida Salazar Discuss JOVITA WORE PANTS

by Travis Jonker

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Sophie Blackall and Julie Flett in Conversation | Children's Book Week 2025

Calista Brill and Nilah Magruder Tell All About 'Creaky Acres,' Their New Middle Grade Graphic Novel

Tiffany D. Jackson Empowers Teens Through Gripping Page-Turners

My School Visit was Cancelled. I Fought Back and Won. | Opinion

Author A. A. Vacharat on YA Debut ‘This Moth Saw Brightness’ | 5 Questions and a Rec

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Katy Henderson says

    June 19, 2018 at 9:24 am

    I’m in a public library, so maybe different from the school library situation? I feel like I’m always pulling books with dirty covers from the shelving carts and having volunteers clean them with Windex. Don’t know if that kills the germs, but it helps them look better. We also wipe down board books periodically with Clorox wipes, since those are more likely to be chewed on!

    • Travis Jonker says

      June 19, 2018 at 10:42 am

      This is good information. We’ve talked about doing this sort of thing, but never have. Thanks for sharing the public librarian perspective!

  2. Clara Hendricks says

    June 19, 2018 at 1:48 pm

    Also a public librarian perspective- we wipe down majorly “grubby” books, especially those going on display. Thank goodness for plastic covers! But also constant hand washing is a must.

  3. Jess says

    June 19, 2018 at 2:49 pm

    1. YES
    2. Public library – as returned books are organized before shelving, staff clean any that look/feel dirty with an all-purpose cleaner and paper towels. Less about germs and more about visible dirt.

  4. Mary Clark says

    June 19, 2018 at 4:45 pm

    I just spent most of my morning moving middle school core novels in our textbook room. I wore gloves and a mask, because yesterday I found mouse droppings. And nibbled books. My new copies of Of Mice and Men! How did they know? (And those are getting Cloroxed!)

  5. Megan says

    June 20, 2018 at 5:29 pm

    1. Yes!
    2. We wipe down EVERY book that gets returned with Clorox wipes, every single time!

  6. Erin says

    June 22, 2018 at 2:16 pm

    When I started my public library career 7 years ago, when we did our weeding we would wipe down each book that we were keeping with a clorox wipes, but we stopped that practice as it took a long time and was costly, but man for a brief time those books were beautiful and fairly germ free!

  7. Michelle says

    July 9, 2018 at 8:12 pm

    At my public library branch, if any book cover feels grimy, I’ll wipe it down with a paper towel and Clorox sanitizing spray.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • Author/Illustrator Blogs

    • Erin Stead Illustration
    • Hey, Rabbit!
    • James Preller's Blog
    • MATTHEWCORDELLBLOGS
    • Mo Willems Doodles
    • The Scop
  • Book Blogs I Like

    • A Book and a Hug
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • A Kids Book a Day
    • A Year of Reading
    • Abby (the) Librarian
    • Awful Library Books
    • Becky’s Book Reviews
    • Better Book Titles
    • Book-A-Day Almanac
    • Bookends
    • books4yourkids.com
    • bookshelves of doom
    • Bottom Shelf Books
    • Calling Caldecott
    • Caustic Cover Critic
    • Chad C. Beckerman
    • Charlotte’s Library
    • Cheryl Rainfield
    • Chicken Spaghetti
    • CHILDREN’S ILLUSTRATION
    • Collecting Children’s Books
    • Cybils
    • EarlyWord
    • educating alice
    • Finding Wonderland
    • For Those About to Mock
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Good Show Sir
    • GottaBook
    • Great Kid Books
    • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
    • Hi Miss Julie!
    • Jen Robinson’s Book Page
    • Kidsmomo
    • Maria T. Middleton Design
    • Nerdy Book Club
    • Neverending Search
    • Nine Kinds of Pie
    • One Book, Two Books, Old Books, New Books
    • Out of the Box
    • Oz and Ends
    • PlanetEsme
    • Read Roger
    • Reading Rants!
    • Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
    • sharpread
    • ShelfTalker
    • so tomorrow
    • The Children's Book Review
    • The Miss Rumphius Effect
    • Uncovered Cover Art
    • Waking Brain Cells
    • Watch. Connect. Read.
  • Library Blogs

    • ALSC Blog
    • Blue Skunk Blog
    • librarian.net
    • LISNews
    • Stephen's Lighthouse
    • Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology
    • Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology
    • Unshelved
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books 2024
    • 2024 Stars So Far
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Pearls & Rubys
    • Politics in Practice
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • Reasons to Love Libraries
    • 2025 Youth Media Awards
    • Defending the Canon:SLJ & NCTE Review 15 Banned Classics
    • Refreshing the Canon Booklist
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Read Free Poster
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2025


    COPYRIGHT © 2025