Precautions taken at Ahenakew library branch

The Saskatoon Public Library is taking precautions at one of its branches after an inspection suggested bedbugs could be present.

A patron reported possible bedbugs at the Dr. Freda Ahenakew Branch last week, and a bedbugsniffing dog subsequently pointed to furniture in a public seating area, according to internal emails obtained by The StarPhoenix.

According to Beth Cote, the library ’s director of public services, the library has a strategy for whenever a bedbug concern arises.

“In our public and employee spaces, we do a visual inspection of the area, and then we call in a bedbug dog that sniffs out the area — that would indicate if there’s any present or past bedbug activity in the area.”

Bedbugs were not confirmed at the 20th Street branch, but the furniture was bagged and removed from the library as a precaution, and the facility was closed for 12 hours after the inspection.

“If we were to find live bedbugs, we wouldn’t want to put the public at risk, so when we have a concern, we make sure we attack that right away,” she said.

Although Cote said the presence of bedbugs in a library is rare, bed bug inspections are done four times a year at each branch. Additionally, whenever a concern arises, precautions are taken immediately.

“The library being a public place, we recognize that ( bedbugs) are a potential.”

She said bedbugs are something the library and other public spaces should be prepared for, but it’s not a priority or high risk for the library.

The library informed the public the branch would be closed on May 25, but the reason was only given out if questions were asked. Cote said if live bedbugs were found and there was a risk to the public, a different communications strategy would have been put in place.