Montreal's Grande Bibliothque grapples with bedbug invasion

Quebec's Grande Bibliothqueon De MaisonneuveBoulevardin Montreal is dealing with a bedbug problem, forced totaketemporary measures to protect visitors from taking home any uninvited guests.

Staff at theBibliothque et Archives nationales du Qubec(BAnQ), as it's officially called,removed fabric lounge chairs and replaced them with plastic seats Tuesday morning.

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They also closed certain areas of the building as they deal with the flat brown bugs thatare notoriously easy to spread and notoriously hard to get rid of.

The library's director,DanielleChagnon,told CBCNewsit's a tough problem to keep on top of.

"We do receive about 7,000 to 8,000 people per day so, of course, you have people carrying things in their bagsand maybe on their clothes."

Chagnon says it's normal for library staffto find the occasional bedbug in a book or DVD, but this time they discovered an unusually high number in the upholstered chairs where people sit and unwind.

Library users say that while the thought of the little pests crawling around the stacks is unpleasant, it won't keep them away.

"I'm not worried about it.[I] close my bags and just don't leave things lying on the floor," saidJean-PaulCormier.

The BAnQ saysit's working with exterminators to eliminate the bedbug infestation, but library users may want to double-check their documents and garments before taking them home.