Cleaning Books in the Stacks

Personnel:

2-person teams (Note: We should make sure that any person doing this kind of work does not have serious respiratory or contact dust/mold allergy problems. )

Supplies:

Vacuum cleaners with HEPA filters and dusting brushes. If suction is high, insert a piece of cheesecloth between brush and hose to reduce suction.
Extension cords
Book trucks with 36" shelves (most stacks shelving is that size)
Treated dust cloths, such as Stretch-N-Dust,One-Wipe™, Dust Bunny™ or plain dust cloths combined with Endust spray (Note: if using Endust, spray dust cloths first, then wipe books. Do not spray books directly.)
Lab coats or aprons to protect clothing
Disposable plastic gloves (Note: Make sure the users don't have latex allergies if latex gloves are used.)
Dust masks rated for nuisance dust, generally the cheapest ones
Rags/sponges
Lysol or other liquid disinfectant to clean shelves
Buckets

Cleaning Procedure for two person team:

Team member #1 removes a row of books to a book truck keeping the items in exact order and handling the books carefully. Never grasp more than 2-3" thick of items at one time when handling. Grasp books in the middle to remove from shelf, not at the top.

Team member #2 vacuums the tops of the books on the truck while #1 wipes down the shelf with a disinfecting solution first, then a dry, clean cloth. Make sure shelf is dry before replacing the books after hand cleaning.

After vacuuming, #2 hand dusts each book on the book truck using treated cloths (or Endust + plain cloths) to keep the dust from spreading. Here are the hand cleaning steps:

· Pick up one book at a time.

· Holding the book firmly closed, tip it fore edge downward and wipe the top of the book first.

· Dust the rest of the book, keeping the book closed through the whole process.

Return book to row on truck. When the entire row has been cleaned, reshelve the items in correct order on the clean shelf. Repeat the process for the next shelf.

Note: Disinfecting the shelf can be skipped if stacks area has no history of mold problems, but the empty shelf should be damp-wiped to remove dirt and dried before cleaned books are reshelved.