Carbon dioxide monitors ‘flying off the shelves’ after 2 Metro Vancouver libraries stock them | 24CA News

Two Metro Vancouver libraries say there was astronomical demand for carbon dioxide displays after they started stocking them final month.

The tiny displays, designed by Latvian firm Aranet, replace with the quantity of carbon dioxide within the air each couple of minutes, measured in elements per million (ppm).

Not solely is carbon dioxide a measure of indoor air high quality — with poor air high quality proven to impression studying outcomes and mind exercise — it can be a mirrored image of the quantity of infectious aerosols within the air, significantly related given airborne ailments like COVID-19.

That’s why the West Vancouver Memorial Library (WVML) and the North Vancouver District Public Library (NVDPL) — each on Metro Vancouver’s North Shore — started stocking them initially of November.

“This is just a perfect example of us being able to respond to our community,” mentioned Michelle Yule, head of collections at WVML. “We heard individuals asking for CO2 displays and, clearly, I feel that is due to the COVID-19 pandemic and extra consciousness about air high quality.

“Ours have been checked out the entire time that we have had them.”

The WVML and NVDPL stock nine and 15 carbon dioxide kits, respectively, packed inside carrying cases with instructions.

In North Vancouver, demand was so high that the library had to double the number of available kits after the first few weeks.

“They’re actually flying off the cabinets,” said Krista Scanlon, manager of collection services at NVDPL. 

“We launched with seven units, however primarily based on the recognition, we have already added a further eight simply to attempt to sustain with the group curiosity.”

Scanlon said the library was inspired to stock the monitors after libraries in Peterborough, Ont. and Toronto both began stocking the devices earlier this year.

In the NVDPL’s case, a government grant helped cover the approximate $280 cost per kit.

Monitors are available from both the WVML and NVDPL for cardholders, with the programs starting at the libraries during the first week of November.

Equitable access to technology

Along with the carbon dioxide monitors, the WVPL also began stocking light therapy lamps for those who suffer from seasonal affective disorder.

Yule says the range of non-book items available at public libraries — from iPods to language learning kits and instruments — shows how much they serve the public good.

“We’re in a position to present equitable entry to applied sciences like this that maybe members of the group couldn’t in any other case afford,” Scanlon said.

Scanlon also pointed to the library stocking radon test kits as another example of how they were meeting community needs.

The two North Shore libraries are currently the only major libraries in B.C. to lend out carbon dioxide monitors.

Indicator of airborne viruses

Dr. Lyne Filiatrault, a retired emergency physician and member of Protect Our Province B.C., says all libraries in the province should stock the devices.

“CO2 is, if you’d like, a surrogate marker for the standard of the air flow in an area,” she said. 

“You can think about the extra individuals in a decent, crowded area, the upper the CO2 … after we’re respiration, we’re releasing CO2, and doubtlessly, if there’s an contaminated particular person, we’re releasing aerosol laden with SARS-CoV-2 virus.”

Filiatrault says that different jurisdictions like Washington state and Belgium have enacted rules mandating the use of CO2 monitors in public spaces as a form of mitigation against airborne viruses.

Generally, Filiatrault says outdoor environments have a CO2 reading of around 400 ppm, while indoor environments are safer under 800 ppm. She said people should look to introduce more outdoor air if they get high readings on their CO2 monitors.

Filiatrault says carbon dioxide monitors were “one device” in COVID mitigation efforts and that it ought to be mixed with good air filtration and different measures like common masking, which she acknowledged may need prices connected.

“But have a look at the price of having so many individuals sick proper now. What is that costing?” she asked.

24CA News asked the Vancouver Public Library (VPL) and Greater Victoria Public Library (GVPL) systems if they would consider stocking carbon dioxide monitors.

“VPL doesn’t presently have any plans so as to add carbon dioxide displays to our collections,” said a VPL spokesperson in an email. “We have had only a few requests from patrons to contemplate including units comparable to these.”

A spokesperson for the GVPL pointed to the library stocking climate action kits that help people test for air leaks and measure electricity use, among other things.

“Carbon dioxide displays usually are not presently a part of these kits, however the library is open to including new elements sooner or later,” the spokesperson mentioned.