Popcorn. TV dinners. Your half-filled, lukewarm cup of coffee. These are all things that are perfectly acceptable to microwave.
Library books, however? Don’t go there.
Librarians in Florida are begging their patrons not to microwave library books, the Tampa Bay Times reports. The pleas have come after readers scared of contracting COVID-19 have taken to nuking the books in the hopes of killing the coronavirus.
“The libraries started hearing it about a week ago when books were being returned that had been on fire,” explains Cheryl Morales of the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative.
Elizabeth Guarino-Kozlowicz of the Kent District Library was initially taken aback when she saw a burned book returned to the library. But she understands the impulse. Kind of.
“I think people are really stressed, and they don’t always know what to do,” she said. “They thought they were doing the right thing. It wasn’t intentional destruction.”
Many libraries quarantine materials after they’re returned, letting them sit for three days before being restocked. This gives any viruses a chance to die off.
Tampa Bay Times journalist Stephanie Hayes addressed book microwavers in a column, writing that they should forgive themselves if they treated the new John Grisham the same way they would a frozen burrito.
“Give yourself an iota of grace,” Hayes wrote. “If you posted about not wearing masks in March, it’s OK to post about wearing masks in July. If you microwaved a book, pay for the damage and then spread the good word not to do it. We have all, at one point, microwaved the proverbial library book. Let’s talk about it, learn and do better.”
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
