If someone suffers an opioid overdose while visiting a branch of the Marin County Free Library, a librarian might be the life-saver.

Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County’s public health officer, recently trained about 10 of the library’s branch managers and top administrators to administer naloxone nasal spray, commonly known by the brand name Narcan.

The training is part of a major push by the health department to make naloxone as available as possible. At last count, naloxone was available for purchase in injectable and nasal spray forms without a prescription at 20 of the county’s 36 pharmacies. It is typically sold in a kit with two doses for about $150. Some Marin County schools now also have naloxone on hand.

The campaign comes in response to a continuing epidemic of opioid addiction. Opioid overdose remains the leading cause of accidental death in the county, resulting in 15 deaths in 2017. According to Willis, ambulance crews in Marin respond to three to five opioid overdoses per week.

“The hope always is that the ambulance will arrive in time to revive the person with naloxone,” Willis said in a statement. “But we can do better. Getting it into the hands of friends and family who may be close by can save lives.”

Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine, has been responsible for the majority of opioid overdose deaths nationally since 2017.

Marin County Free Library Deputy Director Bonny White said the librarians suffered some trepidation prior to the training.

“People had all different sorts of understandings and feelings about it before they found out how it really works,” she said.

Some librarians were concerned they would be required to administer an intravenous injection. Librarians also were concerned they might harm someone by administering naloxone to someone who was not experiencing a drug overdose.

Public health officials reassured the group, however, that naloxone lacks any harmful side effects and would pose no danger if administered unnecessarily.

“Once we understood how it worked we felt fine about it,” White said.

About 10 librarians left the training with Narcan, although county libraries won’t be supplanting hospital emergency rooms any time soon, White said.

The library system has 10 branches, including the Civic Center, and two mobile units, so at this point only about one person per branch has received the training. Additional trainings might follow if staff members express interest, White said. The people who received the training are under no obligation to provide medical care to library visitors.

“It’s important to say that no library staff would be required to do this,” White said. “It would be a matter of people feeling this was something they were comfortable with or not.”

“The thinking is it can’t do damage to people,” she said. “There is an off chance you might be the person to save somebody’s life.”

Since 2017, Marin County police officers have saved at least nine people from opioid overdose by administering naloxone in the field.