Main library remains closed for repairs, branch locations extend their hours
When Logan County Libraries Director Beverly Arlequeeuw took the helm about six months ago, she had no idea how a catastrophic flooding incident at the Knowlton Library on Christmas Day would shape the first days, and even months, of 2023.
While the library has been closed since that day, when a frozen pipe burst above the computer lab and caused 2 to 3 inches of flooding throughout the entire 220 N. Main St. building, both the library director and Fiscal Officer Stacy Sandy find themselves there nearly every day for for various tasks, including many meetings with contractors.
“It looks so different in here, very big and empty, but we are steadily making progress,” Arlequeeuw said Thursday, Feb. 2. “We recently passed our air quality test, which was a huge deal after all of the work that has gone on in here.
“We have to be on top of everything. I find myself sending e-mails or texts at all hours of the morning or night; I don’t want to forget any detail when it crosses my mind. We are living our work right now.”
Time to restore the facility-wide damage and then reopen will be measured in months, and in not weeks, the library officials said. It’s an incremental process, working with insurance adjustors through the numerous claims, and it is also contingent upon the availability of construction materials, computer equipment and new furnishings.
“We have good insurance through the Ohio Plan, which covers all Ohio libraries. We are working through the time frame with adjustors,” the library director said.
“I want the citizens of Logan County to know that we are fully covered by insurance; this is not going to cost our taxpayers.” The library director and fiscal officer miss the usual sights and sounds of patrons browsing the shelves and chatting with staff, or children using the computers for school work and enjoying story time.
At the same time, they emphasized that all of the Logan County Libraries’ branch locations in DeGraff, Lakeview, Rushsylvania, West Mansfield and West Liberty now have extended hours and programming. Visit https://logancountylibraries.org for further details.
The majority of the main library’s staff are now working at the branch locations as well.
“We are hoping it provides a new eye and opportunity to highlight the branches and all of the same library services they can offer, still within our system,” Arlequeeuw said.
Now the entire Knowlton Library has been dried out with diesel-powered dehumidifiers, all of the carpeting removed and the walls prepped for restoration work.
ServPro of Central Auglaize, Hardin and Logan Counties has been hired for this clean-up phase, and ServPro employees put in long hours during those initial weeks, including responding to library within an hour of being called on Christmas Day.
“We’ve had so many good people helping us out here. ServPro and their crew were amazing,” the director said.
During the first week of clean up, the library’s entire collection also was removed, including 4,000 boxes of books, which are now safely stored in an off-site, climate-controlled warehouse. Documents in the history room also were removed immediately and were sent to a historical document restoration company, which completed a freeze-drying process to save the documents.
The metal book shelves have been salvaged in the process, but all of the wooden furniture sustained water damage and will have to be replaced, the director and fiscal officer noted.
All of the computers also have been moved off site and are being tested to determine their level of damage.
“We had 70 percent humidity in the building, and when you have that level of humidity, all of the electronics need to be looked at,” the director said.
“Even in our staff break room, the microwave and toaster were affected by the humidity and they no longer work,” Sandy noted.
One silver lining is that the only areas in the building that were not touched by the water damage were the library’s server room and mechanical room.
“It was so fortunate that our server room was spared – our network is still up and running and we can work from home,” Arlequeeuw said.
The library’s phone lines also have been restored.
Now in the “ground zero” area of the computer lab, insulation was recently installed by Robinson Insulation Company. The library director said extra insulation is being added around the fire suppression system for the rebuild as an “extra assurance.
“This corner of the library (where the computer lab and history room are located) has been very vulnerable and takes the brunt of the weather. We also had very severe weather conditions the day that this winter storm hit, with 30 below zero wind chills.
We weren’t the only ones who had these type of unfortunate damages.”
Next steps around the facility are to continue the insulation, along with installing drywall, painting and carpeting. Link Construction Group will lead the reconstruction phase.
Once the carpeting and walls are completed, the library’s collection can be set up once again by staff, which will take several weeks. There also are new plans in place for restructuring how shelving is set up to “improve overall browsing flow,” Arlequeeuw said.
In the meantime, the book drop and the book lockers are closed at the Knowlton Library. However, library materials can be returned at the branch locations, and the Logan County Libraries also are fine-free until the Knowlton Library reopens.
Public computer access is available at the branch locations. WiFi hotspots also can be picked up and returned at the branch libraries.
All branches also have fax machines, copiers, printers and scanners, along with children’s and adult programming, including story times for children.
A detailed question and answer section about the restoration process also is available on the library’s website, https://logancountylibraries.org/knowlton-library-restoration-project-faqs.
While 2023 has proved quite the challenge for the library system so far, both the fiscal officer and library director are looking forward to positive developments to come.
“This is all going to take some time and it’s not going to happen overnight, but we are very excited about the improvements for the library. It is really going to be beautiful in here,” Arlequeeuw said.
“We’ll continue to keep the public updated on our progress and look forward to welcoming them back to the Knowlton Library.”