Category: Information Literacy in the World

Librarian by day and seamstress by night: cloth face masks during a pandemic

Published by Iris on Wednesday, April 8th, 2020

A week ago the authoritative voices in the U.S. were telling us that face masks weren’t a great idea. The now-famous N95s not only should be saved for the medical professionals and first responders, and they also don’t work well unless they’re properly fitted (all of this, by the way, is still COMPLETELY TRUE). Disposable surgical masks not only should be saved for the medical professionals, first responders, and people who are actively ill, but are also mostly about the wearer not spreading disease rather than about protecting the wearer from getting the disease (all also still true). So the general advice was just to stay away from people rather than wear masks (and staying away from people is, of course, still the best course of action if it’s possible).

Now all of a sudden the CDC says we’re all supposed to wear masks, and I’ve turned nearly every non-working moment toward my new cottage industry of sewing masks for people. (I’ve made 62 so far, mostly over the weekend but also in the couple of hours before work each morning and the couple of hours before bed each night.) I think of the masks I make as a hug that the recipient can throw in the wash!

Of course, being a librarian by trade as well as by temperament, I wanted to choose patterns and fabric based on more than search engine result ranking. What fabrics should I look for? What pattern should I choose? How do you even use one of these effectively?

Sadly, there’s basically no research on homemade face masks for use during an infectious disease outbreak. In fact, there’s one whole study (Chughtai 2013) on how there aren’t studies on this but there should be because what would happen if we ended up in a pandemic and ran out of disposable masks? (Excuse me a minute while I cry into my tea.) Given that, I proceeded to do what all librarians do: look for what does exist from authoritative sources and then triangulate and verify across multiple sources to see if I can figure out a good way forward. Maybe it’s not The way forward, but at least it’s a way that seems best backed by the most authoritative sources I could find.

Fabric

Basically all the requests for cloth masks that come from hospitals say to use densely woven cotton or cotton/polyester blend fabric, like what quilters use, for the two outer layers of a cloth mask. There are studies on cloth masks made from common household cloth that helps me understand why this is true — for example T-shirt material is only 1/3 as effective as a surgical mask, but tea towels are a bit better, and nothing is as good as actual surgical masks (Rengasamy, Eimer, and Shaffer 2010; MacIntyre et al. 2015; Davies et al. 2013). Basically, fabrics are all so different, even if they’re made of similar materials, that scientists just can’t really predict which ones will absolutely be best (Rengasamy, Eimer, and Shaffer 2010; Shakya et al. 2017). The same fabric might even improve over time after multiple washings (Kim 2017), so definitely launder your masks (recommendations include laundering before sewing so that they won’t shrink afterwards, and then laundering after every use because after you’ve worn it it’s probably come in contact with the virus). Then we come to the triangulation part of the research process, and basically lots of different scientists and medical professionals are quoted in lots of different news outlets and sewing instructions from hospitals saying variations on “the tighter the weave the better, but you also have to be able to breathe through it.” So that’s what I’m going with – tight woven fabric, not knitted t-shirt fabric.

Then there’s a common element in hospital requests for a “non-woven” filter material between the outer layers of the mask. Actual surgical masks are made of non-woven material because they don’t have all those tiny holes where the threads overlap — fewer/smaller holes means better protection — and this has been the case for a long time now (Furuhashi 1978). Again, triangulating from interviews with medical professionals in various news outlets, things like vacuum cleaner bags and HEPA are awesome but can get harder to breathe through, those blue shop towels are great, and paper towels are better than nothing. The CDC recommends a coffee filter.

I don’t have non-woven fabric, so that means I’ll need to chose a pattern to make that allows for paper filters to be inserted.

Choosing the pattern

There are SO many patterns out there. If you’re making masks to donate to a healthcare institution, use whatever pattern they ask for. If you’re making masks for places that don’t specify a pattern, here are the common elements I found as I triangulated everything I could read on the subject.

It must fully cover the nose and mouth
It should have two layers of cloth
It must fit as closely to the face as possible (no gaps by your chin, cheeks, or on either side of your nose)
If it doesn’t have a built-in non-woven filter material, it should have a pocket so that wearers can insert filters.
It should be sturdy enough to withstand washing. Lots of washing. People should be washing these masks after every use.

Anything that meets these criteria will be a fine pattern, so if you find one you like, go for it!

I experimented with a bunch of patterns (pleated versions and contoured versions), and for my own work I decided on a pattern that maximized the important coverage and fit requirements while minimizing fabric use. I also experimented making masks with and without a wire over the nose (inserting it is fiddly, and it has to be either removable or washable) and decided that the fit is a whole lot better with the wire. The pattern I chose also seems to work best for people who wear glasses, since it stays away from the eye area better. On the down side, I actually need a pattern to cut around since it’s not just a rectangle, and it takes longer to sew each mask.

If you want to make what I’m making, here are instructions. Feel free to borrow, modify, share, whatever.

My Conclusions as a Librarian, not a Doctor

A lot of the benefit of these masks probably comes from helping us remember not to touch our faces. If made well, used properly, and laundered after each use, they may also help contain any germs that we breath/cough out, and they might filter out some of the germs around us before they get into our bodies. So I’m going to make masks, and I’m going to wear them, but just as the CDC’s guidelines suggest, I’m not going to think of them as magical virus blockers that make it safe for me to go out and do stuff near other people.

Bibliography

Chughtai, Abrar Ahmad, Holly Seale, and Chandini Raina MacIntyre. 2013. “Use of Cloth Masks in the Practice of Infection Control – Evidence and Policy Gaps.” International Journal of Infection Control 9 (3). https://doi.org/10.3396/IJIC.v9i3.020.13.

Davies, Anna, Katy-Anne Thompson, Karthika Giri, George Kafatos, Jimmy Walker, and Allan Bennett. 2013. “Testing the Efficacy of Homemade Masks: Would They Protect in an Influenza Pandemic?” Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness 7 (4): 413–18. https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2013.43.

Furuhashi, M. 1978. “A Study on the Microbial Filtration Efficiency of Surgical Face Masks–with Special Reference to the Non-Woven Fabric Mask.” The Bulletin of Tokyo Medical and Dental University 25 (1): 7–15.

Kim, Seung Won. 2017. “Changes of Particle Filtration Efficiency of Cloth Masks by Machine Washing and Cloth Expansion.” Journal of Korean Society of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene 27 (2): 115–22. https://doi.org/10.15269/JKSOEH.2017.27.2.115.

MacIntyre, C. Raina, Holly Seale, Tham Chi Dung, Nguyen Tran Hien, Phan Thi Nga, Abrar Ahmad Chughtai, Bayzidur Rahman, Dominic E. Dwyer, and Quanyi Wang. 2015. “A Cluster Randomised Trial of Cloth Masks Compared with Medical Masks in Healthcare Workers.” BMJ Open 5 (4): e006577. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006577.

Rengasamy, Samy, Benjamin Eimer, and Ronald E. Shaffer. 2010. “Simple Respiratory Protection—Evaluation of the Filtration Performance of Cloth Masks and Common Fabric Materials Against 20–1000 Nm Size Particles.” The Annals of Occupational Hygiene 54 (7): 789–98. https://doi.org/10.1093/annhyg/meq044.

Shakya, Kabindra M, Alyssa Noyes, Randa Kallin, and Richard E Peltier. 2017. “Evaluating the Efficacy of Cloth Facemasks in Reducing Particulate Matter Exposure.” Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology 27 (3): 352–57. https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2016.42.

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2020 Census: the demo software, data, and more on the debate about differential privacy

Published by Iris on Wednesday, October 30th, 2019

Since last I wrote, I’ve been able to learn more about a question that had plagued me: what of IPUMS, that unparalleled resource for census micro-data? For one thing, I was sure they must be thinking about privacy already – micro-data must be handled with care. For another, the 2020 Census “Privacy Budget” work is likely to make IPUMS’s work pretty complicated or even impossible.

Turns out, they are of course way ahead of me. Here’s their page on the topic, which also links to the Census’ released software and documentation, as well as to data available from IPUMS that researchers can use to test that software.

I also happen to know someone who works at IPUMS, and he says they’ve already been doing record swapping and injecting “noise” into their data to protect unique cases.

I certainly hope that everyone involved can figure out how to protect people’s privacy while still allowing vital research. This seems like an impossibly tangled knot to me.

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The Affordable Care Act (aka ObamaCare): The source documents behind the news

Published by Iris on Tuesday, June 13th, 2017

The Primary Source Crusader (my own mashup of images)

With accusations flung from both sides of the isle about health care bills and how they they get moved through Congress, I found myself curious about just exactly what went into the creation of the ACA (the Affordable Care Act, aka the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, aka ObamaCare).

I’m still working on fleshing this out with links to full text, but I’m ready to share my initial gathering of all the bills, debates, hearings, reports, and presidential documents that ended up creating what we now call ObamaCare.

In this collection, I included the bills themselves and bills that were related (either directly referring to or incorporating substantial wording from each other) and ultimately building on each other until finally the ACA became law, as well as Hearings and Reports that directly related to or mentioned those bills. I also included a few presidential documents that were directly related to health care reform prior to the ACA’s passage, though I have not combed through all speeches and press releases.

I did not include the 60 committee prints that went into the drafting of this law, but if there’s a compelling reason to go back and list those, please let me know. I also stopped including Congressional Research Service Reports that were produced after the bills were finally passed, though CRS of course continues to study issues and impacts of the ACA.

Here is a preview, but if you want to sort and search rather than just scroll, have a look at the full sheet.

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Trump’s Budget Proposal: The source documents behind the news

Published by Iris on Monday, March 20th, 2017

The Trump administration has released its first federal budget proposal, America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again. This proposal has sparked considerable controversy, so I got interested in how the federal budget even works. With my standard caveats,* here are some common questions and the source documents that help answer those questions.

It’s called a proposal. How much control does the President actually have over the Federal Budget? And how does that process work?

The History, Art & Archives site from the House of Representatives gives an overview of the “Power of the Purse,” which the Constitution grants primarily to Congress. The House further outlines the Budget Process and provides a timetable for that budget process. This process begins with the President’s budget proposal and proceeds with the Congress proposing appropriations legislation (12 “regular” appropriations bills emanating from 12 sub-committees of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees) which may or may not take the President’s suggestions. Some or all of these bills may be consolidated into an omnibus bill for passage. Appropriations legislation is just like most other legislation in that it must be passed by both the House and the Senate and then signed by the President. The President can veto the bills (in their entirety, not line-item), Congress can override the veto, etc.

In years where they can’t agree by October 1st (frequent) they can pass Continuing Resolutions to keep things funded at current rates until they can make a decision about the future.

The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 requires the President to submit the initial budget proposal to Congress, and the budget process as a whole is governed by Title 31, Subtitle II, Chapter 11 of the United States Code. Prior to 1974, presidents were able to “impound” funds (not spend them even after they had been budgeted), but due to perceived abuses by Nixon the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 reorganized the budgeting process to place more control in Congress’ hands. This, too, has been amended several times, so if you want to read current law you can look at Chapters 17, 17A, and 17B of Title II of the United States Code.

For comparison, you can look back at previous White House budget proposals.

How will I know what Congress’ budget looks like?

You can track the various bills as they appear and move through the budget process. (Remember that Omnibus Bills can gather up many of the smaller bills, so just because a bill didn’t become law by itself doesn’t mean it didn’t become law as part of an omnibus bill.)

What does Trump’s proposal actually propose?

The President’s proposal is available online. Reading it as a message to Congress about this administration’s priorities, the most succinct articulation of Trump’s priorities occurs in the “President’s Message” at the beginning of the document. President Trump entitled this message “America First: Beginning a New Chapter of American Greatness.” Here is an excerpt:

One of the most important ways the Federal Government sets priorities is through the Budget of the United States.

Accordingly, I submit to the Congress this Budget Blueprint to reprioritize Federal spending so that it advances the safety and security of the American people.

Our aim is to meet the simple, but crucial demand of our citizens—a Government that puts the needs of its own people first. When we do that, we will set free the dreams of every American, and we will begin a new chapter of American greatness.

A budget that puts America first must make the safety of our people its number one priority— because without safety, there can be no prosperity. (page 1)

Note that this proposal does not include everything that will be proposed:

The 2018 Budget is being unveiled sequentially in that this Blueprint provides details only on our discretionary funding proposals. The full Budget that will be released later this spring will include our specific mandatory and tax proposals, as well as a full fiscal path. (page 5)

Additional key statements providing policy guidance to Congress include:

“The Federal Government can—and should— operate more effectively, efficiently, and securely.” (page 13)
“Each year, however, Federal agencies issue thousands of new regulations that, taken together, impose substantial burdens on American consumers and businesses big and small. These burdens function much like taxes that unnecessarily inhibit growth and employment.” (page 15)
The phrase “private sector” shows up 12 times in the document, signaling an emphasis on moving support for some activities out of the government and into the private sector.

Following these opening sections, the proposal covers 17 major areas of the federal budget. Below I’ve linked to each of those agencies’ budget pages:

When would any changes take place?

Assuming the legislative process wraps up on schedule, the new budget for Fiscal Year 2018 would swing into effect on October 1st, 2017.

Two caveats: 1) Not all knowable things are knowable using official, original published sources, but that’s the limit I’ve set for myself even when that’s inconvenient or frustrating, and 2) I am a librarian trained in tracking down and evaluating sources — nothing more or less than that. I’m doing my best to find the most authoritative version of the primary sources behind the news, and I welcome suggestions and corrections.

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