Northeastern Flooding Takes a Toll on Archives, Libraries
River cities in the northeastern part of the United States took a multimillion-dollar hit in late June and early July from heavy rains that caused flooding damage to libraries in at least six states and the District of Columbia.
The National Archives and Records Administration building in Washington will remain closed through July 11 so workers can clean up grime from June 26 floodwaters that rose up to eight feet in the basement, submerging the stage and the first two rows of seats in the two-year-old William G. McGowan Theater and knocking out the electrical power. Damage is estimated to be around $2 million. No documents were at risk, but the conservation staff is taking periodic temperature and humidity readings to prevent mildew, WTOP Radio reported June 29.
Library of Congress Preservation Director Dianne van der Reyden said in the July 5 The Hill newspaper that federal agencies such as NARA have enhanced their preservation training and procedures since Hurricane Katrina to ensure document recovery. Although LC collections were high and dry, she said that trained staff members were on call 24 hours a day to respond to any water damage.
In other areas:
- Floodwaters and sanitary sewage damaged and contaminated the Brecksville branch of the Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Public Library June 22. The branch has been closed temporarily until a large meeting room can be opened up for popular materials. Staff has placed the bulk of the collection in refrigerated cars and stored the furniture until the building is refurbished.—Cuyahoga County Public Library, June 30.
- Overflowing creeks flooded the Roscoe (N.Y.) Free Library to a level of five feet, destroying all the books on the lower three bookshelves, all the magazines, and all the children’s books.—Middletown Times Herald-Record, June 29.
- Several thousand books donated to the Canajoharie (N.Y.) Library for its annual summer book sale were destroyed by floodwaters, but only some 500 books from the lending collection were damaged.—Gloversville Leader Herald, July 1.
- Some print materials got wet at Radford (Va.) University’s McConnell Library after a leak developed in the roof during rains June 27.—Roanoke Times, June 28.
- The Port Carbon (Pa.) Public Library closed indefinitely after waters from Mill Creek inundated most of the collection, including a new shipment of books paid for with $5,200 in donations to a memorial fund set up after Library Board President Janet Eich’s grandson was killed in December 2005.—WNEP-TV, Moosic, July 3.
- Rainwater dripped onto bookshelves in the circulation area of the Wethersfield (Conn.) Public Library after a July 3 storm overwhelmed gutters on the roof. Director Laurel Goodwin said staffers removed the books and threw tarps over staff office desks, minimizing the damage.—Hartford Courant, July 4.
- Twenty-three children attending the first day of a preschool program at Bayonne (N.J.) Public Library were sent home July 5 when the library basement flooded during heavy rains.—Jersey City Jersey Journal, July 6.
Posted July 7, 2006.
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