Measles on Main Street, USA: How Public Health Events Affect Public Library Policy

This study describes a questionnaire survey of library directors, county librarians, and city librarians representing eighty-three of California's one-hundred and seventy-nine total public library districts. The study was conducted to determine the effects, if any, of the 2015 Disneyland measles outbreak and California Senate Bill Number 277 on public library policy in California. One library district changed an existing policy following the Disneyland outbreak, and another district changed an existing policy in response to the Senate Bill. No library districts added, eliminated, plan to change, plan to add, or plan to eliminate policies owing to either event. Three districts anticipate that these events will likely impact policies in the future. Although the events have yet to elicit many policy changes, public libraries should consider implementing such policies to strengthen the health of the communities they serve before governing bodies place pressure on them to do so.Master of Science in Library Scienc