SALEM Library repairs continue

Officials have relied on makeshift arrangements to keep the library open.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- The region may be in the icy grips of a hard winter, but the Salem Public Library is still dealing with the legacy of a wet summer.
It's expected to be well into next month before workers finish repairs on the library necessitated by an Aug. 9 flood that soaked homes and businesses, said George W.S. Hays, library director. Hays had previously predicted that the job would be done by this month, but it has taken longer than anticipated.
"We're eager for the project to be done," Hays said.
The library has been kept open during the repair process by shuffling offices and separating patrons from work areas using makeshift partitions fashioned from plastic sheeting.
Restoration has included replacing walls and installing new oak trim, doors and cabinets. Some bathrooms also are being rebuilt.
How it looks
Library officials recently moved hundreds of videos, DVDs and CDs back to the audio-visual room after repairs were completed there.
Plastic is draped in the lobby as workers apply fresh varnish to water-damaged wood panels and hang new dry wall.
The children's section, where water damaged more than 8,000 books, is awaiting new cabinetry, Hays said.
Insurance is covering the estimated $450,000 loss caused after days of summer deluges overwhelmed the city's storm sewers and floodwaters poured into the library's lower level, which is partly below ground.
In some places inside the building, water levels crept to 3 feet high.
The library's main collection, on an upper floor, was spared.
A new sump pump was put in to help limit damage from future floods, although Hays has noted that the library's design makes it vulnerable when severe rains like those of last summer strike.
leigh@vindy.com