Hello Melissa, I encountered a similar complaint a couple years ago - plus I am allergic to peanuts and many other foods and live with this on a daily basis. I looked into library policies on it quite a bit and settled on no policy or signage. My feedback to the patron was: 1) Schools are able to be nut-free bc they are a controlled environment. They control who comes in and what is eaten. 2) A public library is not a controlled environment. 3) We could put up signs and set a policy, but people will ignore them. Ex. Someone may sneak into a corner to eat a PB&J sandwich. Or may eat it before coming in and then touch the doorknob with the peanut butter oils. 4) The presence of signage and a policy may give people living with nut allergies a false sense of safety in the library. 5) As a person who lives with food allergies I have to be hypervigilant in all environments for my own safety and it is best if families remain hypervigilant too. I expressed great concern for the grandmother and her granddaughter and stated that I live with it too, so I empathize with the fear and concern for her child. Alas, we cannot guarantee a safe environment even with signage or policy. Sincerely, Nyama Nyama Y. Reed Library Director N.Reed@WFBLibrary.org 414-755-6551 (direct line) Whitefish Bay Public Library 5420 North Marlborough Drive Whitefish Bay, WI 53217 414-964-4380 (main line) Our Mission The Whitefish Bay Public Library, as a cornerstone of the community, is dedicated to connecting people of all ages, inspiring a love of learning and providing easy access to ideas, information and resources. *Please be advised electronic mail becomes a "public record" as allowed under public record laws when sent or received as part of normal business processes. Today's Topics: 1. nut-free libraries (Melissa Malcolm) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Mon, 11 Nov 2019 09:46:27 -0500 From: Melissa Malcolm <melissa@lib.lapeer.org> To: Michlib-l <michlib-l@mcls.org> Subject: [Michlib-l] nut-free libraries Message-ID: <CAChhsn6LLO983ZqCwZnzzaCUaX=naUfFs9Hdjyz8NJUyLZm9Tw@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" Hi all-- Happy snowy Monday! The library had a complaint on Saturday about our not being peanut-free. I know that schools have those policies but had not heard of libraries having them. I did find a couple of public libraries outside of Michigan with a notice that the library is nut-free, and one with a policy. Is there a Michigan library with a policy, and what do the procedures look like for enforcing it? Do staff members need to make sure that their lunches and snacks do not contain peanuts, almonds, etc? Thanks for any advice! melissa -- Melissa A. Malcolm Library Director Lapeer District Library 201 Village West Dr S Lapeer, MI 48446 melissa@lib.lapeer.org www.library.lapeer.org 810.664.9521 <callto:810.664.9521> ext. 3113 "If liberty and justice mean anything, then access means everything." -- Charles Ogletree