Flooding damages more than 50,000 library documents (Boston Public Library) 8-17-1998

[Guest guest]

Pedestrians watch as water fills a downtown Boston street. The floodwaters

rushed into the basement of the Boston Public Library.

Flooding damages more than 50,000 library documents

BOSTON (AP) -- Worried Boston Public Library officials didn't have to finish

calculating the damage done by this weekend's flood to know the cleanup

would be long and difficult.

Early Sunday morning, a ruptured water main sent tens of thousands of

gallons gushing into the basement of the nation's oldest public library.

The water, from an underground 42-inch iron pipe, surged into the McKim

Building, the library's oldest section. More than 50,000 documents were

damaged or destroyed, officials said.

As much as 4 feet of water flooded some areas of the marble-tiled

subterranean hallways. Water also spilled into the library's main building,

leaving about 4 inches of water in basement areas there.

" This is very frustrating, " said Mayor M. Menino, who surveyed the

damage Sunday. " This is the gem of our library system and the best public

research library in the country. "

Because water had completely flooded some stairwells, library officials were

not able to get close enough to gauge the full extent of the damage late

Sunday. They said casualties could include government documents, topographic

maps, patent indexes, periodicals, furniture, microfiche machines and other

computer equipment.

Most of the documents believed affected were neither priceless nor

irreplaceable, officials said.

But the destruction dealt a blow to the 6 million-volume institution that

houses New England's most complete public collection of government

documents.

Library supervisor Dibble said she was concerned about a sound

archive room containing more than 200,000 recordings, many of which were

one-of-a-kind LP records.

" I'm also worried about mold and fungus from the dampness, " she said. " The

water can damage books even if they don't get wet. "

Dibble said the library's most precious possessions -- including 3,300

volumes that belonged to , a solid gold medal that belonged to

Washington and a page from a 548-year-old Guttenberg Bible -- were

unharmed on upper floors of the building.

The 150-year-old library, which did not have scheduled hours on Sunday, was

expected to be shut at least through Monday. Financial damage estimates were

incomplete Sunday.

Public works officials were investigating the cause of the water main break.

The pipe, which dates back to 1895, had undergone restoration 10 years ago,

said Janet Mainiero, a spokeswoman for the Boston Water and Sewer

Commission.

Mainiero estimated it would take several days to fix the pipe, but water

service would not be seriously affected.

Flood cleanup begins at Boston public library

Web posted on: Tuesday, August 18, 1998 12:56:05 PM EDT

BOSTON (AP) -- Her hands caked with muck, Fleming cleared a pathway

through the muddy basement of the Boston Public Library.

The weekend flood, caused by a massive water main break, had toppled

bookshelves and carts and carried volumes from one end of the basement to

another. Water splashed on the floor as Fleming wrung out a volume of

" Firearms and Violence in American Life. "

" The lights are on now, " she said on Monday. " Before, people were slogging

around with flashlights and tripping. "

Upstairs, library officials said the extensive cleanup and restoration is

just beginning. The flood destroyed or damaged more than 50,000 documents in

the basement of the library's 150-year-old McKim Building. The library's

elevators and computer circulation system have also been temporarily knocked

out.

" We consider this is a disaster, " said Bruce Cole, the library's chief

financial officer. Cole said he could not begin to estimate the cost of the

damage.

The 42-inch water main was repaired Sunday and workers drained the basement,

which was filled with more than 21/2 feet of water.

On Monday, crews used portable fans to dry the floors and pumped in cold air

to inhibit the growth of mold, which could further damage the documents and

books.

Mike Galvin, Boston's chief of basic city services, said the most heavily

damaged books are being wrapped and freeze-dried by a company that

specializes in repairing flood-damaged books.

The entire library, including the newer wing, was closed Monday.

Cole said the reception desk could be open as soon as today for book

returns, but other areas would be closed indefinitely.

Library supervisor June Eiselstein said library employees and volunteers

will be put to work with towels cleaning and drying several thousand vinyl

records from the flooded sound archive room.

Most of the other documents affected were government records, including tax

papers and patents, which are also stored in Washington. The Boston library

houses New England's most complete public collection of government

documents.

The library's most precious possessions, including 3,300 volumes that

belonged to , were unharmed on upper floors of the building.

Bulger, president of the University of Massachusetts and a member of

the library's board of trustees, said the flood provides a lesson to anyone

who collects and stores books.

" Perhaps this is a reminder to us that there are better places for storage

than the basement, " he said.