Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
O’Neal Library in Mountain Brook is closed indefinitely due to a pipe burst last Friday (May 5) in the building’s fire suppression system.
“It was a big pipe and a lot of water,” said library director Lindsy Gardner. “But the collection is fine. Mainly, the damage is around the flooring. The library is shut down for water mitigation and damage repair.
Gardner said the main thing they are asking of patrons not to return books right now because (of) the humidity level in the building. She added that there is no penalty for people holding onto their books for a while longer.
"It's just a good idea not to have any more books in the building than we have already,” she said. "If [patrons] have books that belong to other libraries, they're certainly encouraged to return those. But if they'll hold onto O'Neal Library items for now, that is the biggest help that we can get.”
The O’Neal director noted that library patrons throughout Jefferson County are generally able to return materials to any branch, noting that her branch often receives books that belong to Homewood, Vestavia Hills or Birmingham Public libraries.
“We have a van system that picks up all the books and delivers them to the correct building,” she said. “We really just don't want any books returned to our library right now. And it would be (best) if they didn't try to return our books to other libraries. Then somebody's got to hold onto them until we can accept them.”
Damage was limited to the first floor where the children's area and new books and other new arrivals are displayed. Water damage was also in the basement, which is a nonpublic area that includes a staff work room, the staff lounge and an area where The Friends of O’Neal Library hold their book sale every year.
A lot of the library’s electrical and mechanical material is in the basement. “We're still evaluating,” Gardner said, “but I'm optimistic that there's not major damage to the electrical and mechanical.”
“Library Closed” signs greeted patrons as they made their way to the building. Gardner was busy Saturday, moving library materials to make sure they were out of harm’s way.
“I handled a lot of books and I said a silent prayer of thanks that our collection wasn't harmed,” she said. “We were just really lucky.”
Her work was only interrupted by patrons offering to assist.
“'Can I come to the library? I'll help move books. I'll help do whatever,’” the library director said. “The best thing that they can do is just hold onto the books that they have right now.”
Suzanne Graham was heartbroken as she arrived at the library on Sunday and learned what had happened. She was disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to pick up a book she had reserved.
“I come by the library all the time. I get my books from the library,” the resident of Birmingham’s Highland Park Neighborhood said. “I held one earlier this week and I was coming by to get it. I'm disappointed I don't have my new book to read but I'm really grateful there was no damage to the books in the library.
Gardner was thankful for the efforts of Mountain Brook’s public safety crew in dealing with the flooding.
“I'm so grateful to all the city departments who helped, particularly the fire department,” she said. “They were the first on the scene and they just responded by the book and really helped to mitigate the damage. Also, the police department has helped, (and) the building inspector, just everybody has pitched in and I'm really grateful.”
UPDATE 11:40 a.m. April 8
Additional statement from Lindsy Gardner: "Dear Friends, first thank you for your concern! As you may have heard, the library flooded on Friday morning. The good news is that we have not lost any significant portion of the collection, however, we will be handling water mitigation and clean up, so will need to close the physical building for the next few weeks. Hold on to your O'Neal Library books until we are able to process them again. And don't forget, the Library is more than our building, we have a website with a world of information at your fingertips. Stop by oneallibrary.org and check out our digital collections like Libby, hoopla, and Kanopy, while we handle clean up."
