Illness was rife in this period in both Britain and the United States. At a time when support for public libraries was growing nationwide, book-lending institutions faced a major challenge from the disease scare. “But the greater danger, perhaps, comes in over-estimating this source of danger and frightening people into a nervous condition.”Ĭoncerns about spreading disease through the lending of books would have serious impacts on the proliferation and growth of libraries. “Possibly there is some danger from this source since the bacillus was discovered danger is found to lurk in places hitherto unsuspected,” the Library Journal continues. Librarians worried that Allan’s death, which became a focal point of the scare, would dissuade people from borrowing books and lead to a decline in support for public libraries. The panic sprung from “the public understanding of the causes of diseases as germs,” says Annika Mann, a professor at Arizona State University and author of Reading Contagion: The Hazards of Reading in the Age of Print. “The death of Miss Jessie Allan is doubly sad because of the excellent reputation which her work won for her and the pleasant affection which all librarians who knew her had come to feel for her, and because her death has given rise to a fresh discussion as to the possibility of infection from contagious diseases through library books,” the Library Journal, published by the American Library Association, wrote in October of 1895.Īllan’s death occurred during what is sometimes called the “great book scare.” This scare, now mostly forgotten, was a frantic panic during the late 19th and early 20th centuries that contaminated books-particularly ones lent out from libraries-could spread deadly diseases. She was a librarian at the Omaha Public Library, and thanks to a common fear of the time, people worried that Allan’s terminal illness may have come from a book. Such deaths were a common occurrence at the turn of the 20th century, but Allan’s case of “consumption” reportedly came from an unusual source. To pay online, log in to your account.On September 12, 1895, a Nebraskan named Jessie Allan died of tuberculosis. If the balance is $2.00 or more, you can pay online with a credit card (Visa or MasterCard). Log in to your account to determine what fees have been charged to your library card. If you pay at least 10% of the balance, you can check out up to 2 items.įees will not prevent you from using library computers, renewals, downloads or other online services. Under $30 - You have full borrowing privileges.Group 7: includes laptop computer power check energy meter - list price (default $100).Group 6: includes adult and teen audiobooks on CD read-alongs adult mixed media - $50.00/item.Group 5: includes adult nonfiction books large print books adult and teen DVDs children's and easy audiobooks on CD adult and teen music CD boxed sets - $25.00/item.Group 4: includes adult fiction books children's nonfiction books children's mixed media children's and easy DVDs music CD boxed sets - $20.00/item.Group 3: includes music CDs easy and teen fiction and nonfiction books $15.00/item.Group 2: includes mass market paperbacks children's fiction books easy readers easy mixed media adult readers - $10.00/item.Group 1: includes board books comics magazines newspapers children's paperbacks - $5.00/item.Replacement fees for lost itemsįees for lost library material (based on average cost for the type of material): Please contact library staff before purchasing. Instead of paying the nonrefundable fee, you may be able to supply the library with a replacement copy (certain rules apply). Once a patron has paid a replacement fee, it cannot be refunded even if the patron finds the item after paying. If the item is returned within one year of the due date, the fee will be removed from your account. A fee will be charged to a patron’s account for items not returned within 40 days of their final due date.
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