A private lab hired by a local activist group says it detected E. coli and fecal coliform on tables, computer keyboards and other surfaces inside the Santa Monica Public Library, and the claim has reignited demands for a deep cleaning — or even a temporary shutdown — of the downtown branch. The city, however, says it hasn't verified any of it and won't draw conclusions until it reviews exactly how the testing was done.
According to FOX 11 Los Angeles, the outside organization allegedly detected E. coli and fecal coliform on tables, keyboards and other surfaces inside the library. The outlet reports that city officials said they would need to review the testing methodology, laboratory, sampling procedures and results before determining what the findings actually establish. As Santa Monica Mirror reported, the city has pointed to its extensive cleaning operations while critics have cited drug use and other rule violations at the library as part of their broader complaint.
The testing itself was commissioned by the Santa Monica Coalition, which paid West Coast Environmental Testing to inspect desk and computer surfaces at the library, according to Circling The News. That outlet reports the sampling took place on September 19, with E. coli and coliform contamination found in the results from that day's testing.
City Says Cleaning Already Happens Around the Clock
Santa Monica has pushed back on the idea that the library is neglected. The city says 11 custodians — six during the day and five at night — provide more than 440 hours of cleaning services each week, per the same FOX 11 account. The City Council also approved nearly $500,000 in additional custodial funding as part of the city's Realignment Plan, the station reports.
Beyond custodial staff, the library employs nine full-time and five part-time Library Services Officers who monitor the facility and enforce city policies, according to the report. Library rules explicitly prohibit lewd conduct, open drug use, weapons and other illegal or disruptive behavior, FOX 11 notes — a response to the kinds of complaints that have circulated for months.
A Months-Long Campaign Over Safety Concerns
The sanitation claims arrive on top of an existing fight over conditions at the Main Library. Civic activist John Alle renewed a months-long campaign alleging the downtown branch is unsafe and unsanitary for families, according to the Santa Monica Observer. A video Alle circulated alleged bathroom sex, indoor meth use, pornography and deteriorating conditions inside the library, the Observer reported. Alle has said the reported test results raise concerns about sanitation and safety, per FOX 11.
Those allegations sit alongside a city-commissioned community-mapping report from March, which the Observer says found that 71 percent of respondents felt safe in library spaces, while 9.7 percent did not and another 18.9 percent said safety depended on the time of day or location. Library officials said at the time that those findings would shape programming, facilities and staffing decisions, subject to budget and staffing limits, according to the Observer's reporting.
What the Testing Does — and Doesn't — Prove
Fecal coliform and E. coli are commonly used as indicator organisms rather than direct measures of illness risk. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Bacteriological Analytical Manual notes that fecal coliforms remain the standard indicator of choice in certain food and water contexts, while E. coli is used to indicate recent fecal contamination, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Keyboard contamination is also not without precedent elsewhere. A 2008 report on University of Washington campus computers found fecal coliform on keyboards and described its presence as an indicator that other pathogens, including E. coli, may be present, according to The Seattle Times. A separate 2011 study cited by ResearchGate reported E. coli detected on 4 percent of public-use staff computer devices, while staphylococcus aureus showed its highest prevalence on personal-use student devices at 29 percent.
For now, Santa Monica's position is that the alleged findings remain unconfirmed. City officials say they will review the lab, its methods and its results before making any determination — leaving the push for a deep cleaning, or any shutdown, unresolved while that review plays out.
