For at least the foreseeable future, the Schlow Centre Region Library will have a smaller selection of books to choose from.
Library spokesperson Susanna Paul says over 1,500 books were damaged beyond repair after a pipe burst early Monday morning, causing extensive water damage to one side of the library. The library is currently closed as staff members and professional cleaners work to mop up the damage.
The destroyed books were mostly from the biography section, but numerous educational children’s toys, audiobooks and young adult fiction titles also had to be thrown out. Paul says the library may be closed until as late as Thursday.
She says library staff may be able to reopen the children’s section and part of the adult section by Wednesday, but says its too early to tell when the entire library will be up and running.
Overdue fees will not accrue during the time that the library is closed, though Paul says library patrons can still return books to any of the various drop-off locations.
“I’m just glad it wasn’t worse,” says library director Cathi Alloway. “It looked dreadful when I got here this morning, but our staff has been working hard and we were able to prevent it from being any worse.”
Alloway says the fire alarm went off when the pipe froze and burst overnight. She got a call about the situation at about 3:30 a.m., and she and other library staffers were on scene doing damage control within the hour.
Paul says the library’s carpets were soaked and there is some minor damage to sections of drywall, but there is no extensive structural damage.
Maintenance crews were on scene through Monday afternoon, working to fix the pipe and stop a small but persistent leak on the second floor. Service Master employees also set up dehumidifiers and fans to speed up the drying-out process.
Alloway says the library is insured, which should cover the costs of any structural damage. She is not sure if the insurance will cover the cost of the books and other materials damaged by the water.
“We immediately took note of every title that had to be disposed of, and our intention is to replace the parts of our collection that were impacted,” Paul says.
Alloway asks anyone interested in supporting the Schlow Library to consider making a donation through the library website. She says community support will be important when it comes time to replace the parts of library’s collection that was lost.
“It was very heartening to see the way our staff came together to respond to this, but it’s still quite a mess to contend with,” Paul says.
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