Good Morning-
Last night, several local news agencies incorrectly reported that Houston Public Library had received a donation of books from a home in The Woodlands that was quarantined for a possible hantavirus exposure, and that up to 20% of the books had been distributed to children and families.
Here are the facts:
1. The books in question were donated to the Friends of the Houston Public Library, an independent non-profit organization that exists to support the Houston Public Library through the sale of used and/or donated books.
2. The books were never in the possession of HPL, and our collection was not exposed to the books.
3. The Friends reacted immediately upon learning of the possible exposure, isolating as many of the books as possible at their warehouse. Upon advice of local infectious disease specialists, the Friends have closed the warehouse and suspended operations there pending an investigation by the City's Department of Health and Human Services.
4. None of the books in question were distributed by the Friends.
5. No other books from the Friends' warehouse have been distributed since the Woodlands books arrived at the warehouse.
The Friends and HPL Communications staff have worked to contact local news organizations to correct the story, with some success.
Still, you might have some customers today who saw the stories last night, and not the corrections. If so, please use the information in this email to ease any concerns.
Finally, the Friends has taken the proactive step to postpone their upcoming Children's Book Sale, which was scheduled for September 21 and 22. Please remove all promotional materials for this sale and return them to the Print Shop.
Please let me know if you have any questions-
Sincerely,
Greg Simpson, Assistant Director
Communications Division
Houston Public Library
WHAT IS HANTAVIRUS? Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) is a rare but deadly viral infection. It is spread by mice and rats. They shed the virus in their urine, droppings and saliva. Tiny droplets with the virus can enter the air.
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