Mold spores sprouting at MU library

[Guest guest]

J-school collection off limits because of health concerns

Columbia Daily Tribune

By TERRY GANEY of the Tribune's staff

Published Tuesday, August 29, 2006

http://www.showmenews.com/2006/Aug/20060829News006.asp

Mold spores have damaged books in the temporary basement location of

the University of Missouri-Columbia's Journalism School Library, and

access has been restricted because of health concerns.

Christian Basi, a spokesman for the MU, said the library staff

discovered mold growing " on a lot of books " about 10 days ago. It's

unclear at this point the extent of the damage and whether any books

would have to be replaced or destroyed, Basi said.

The library is closed for now as staff members assess the damage and

clean up the problem. Basi said they were using a vacuum cleaner

equipped with a special filter to remove mold from each book.

A faulty air conditioner and high humidity contributed to the mold

growth, Basi said. Mold can grow on any organic material given the

right conditions of air and moisture. The inhalation of mold spores

can cause health problems such as allergic reactions, asthma and

other respiratory ailments.

" For the protection of the books and because of concern about public

health, the library has restricted access to that area until they

fully assess the damage and see if there are books that can be

saved, " Basi said.

More than half of the school's collection of 40,000 books was moved

to the basement of the Neff Annex in May 2005 for the renovation of

Walter Hall, where the library was located. Other volumes

were placed in storage. The new library is expected to open next

year.

Jim Cogswell, MU library director, was unavailable for comment today.

Dennis Elmore, the campus manager of occupational safety and

industrial hygiene, has been consulted on the problem. He has

advised people attempting to clean the books to wear protective

equipment.

" We are mainly interested in the human health aspects, " Elmore

said. " The folks handling the books need to take general

precautions. "

Elmore said that during his inspection of the library, he found

books where mold was barely visible, but other volumes were covered

in a " fuzzy mass " where the problem was obvious. Basi said the air

conditioning problem has been fixed and that there are plans to

reopen the stacks within a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, Basi said, patrons can borrow books through several

other library lending programs. Those wishing to borrow books can

call the Journalism Library for advice (882-7502) or the Ellis

Library Reference Desk (882-4581). Other library books can be found

through Merlin, MOBIUS or inner-library loan facilities at these Web

sites: http://mulibraries.missouri.edu or

http://mobius.missouri.edu/screens/opacmenu.html.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------

Reach Terry Ganey at (573) 815-1708 or tganey@....

---------------------------------------------------------------------

-----------