Library cleanup underway
No damage estimates after facility flooded by water main break
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Crews continue restoration efforts on the lower levels of the Altoona Area Public Library after last week's flooding, but there's still no set timeline for reopening, a library spokeswoman said.
"We don't know the extent of the impact to (the library's) services right now," said Jennifer Knisely, the library's executive director. "If we can get power restored quickly, we can bring back Wi-Fi and perhaps get people back in for appointments."
The library's power was knocked out Dec. 14, when water from a burst water main filled the building's electrical room and flooded the lower level.
Damage to the building is still being estimated, but the library won't be footing the bill, Altoona Area School District spokesperson Paula Foreman said.
"The library should not incur any costs as a result of this," Foreman said. "The damages were caused by a subcontractor, and the library is going through (the subcontractor's) insurance for the repairs."
Although the damage to the flooring and electrical room was significant, Knisely said the books were -- for the most part -- unscathed and are being kept off site in a controlled environment to prevent them from growing mold.
"We did, unfortunately, lose quite a few of our fundraiser prizes in the flooding," she said. "So, we had to cancel an event we had planned."
While the building may be off limits for the time being, Knisely said the library's virtual services are still up and running. People can visit the library website at www.altoonalibrary.org.
With the restoration underway, library Assistant Director Kathy Benzel said the institution is relaxing its book-returns policy.
"People don't need to worry about returning their materials as we are extending due dates as far as we can and waiving all fines," Benzel said.
For people who want to return books or need other in-person library services, she said they can visit any of the seven other independent library locations in Blair County, which can be found on the library website under Blair County Library System.
Blair County's branch of Pa. CareerLink recently moved into the library, but has canceled all in-person services during the restoration efforts, CareerLink Site Administrator Gwen Fisher said.
"We're helping an enormous amount of people with questions about unemployment and employment opportunities during the pandemic," Fisher said. "And we're going to continue doing that, but for the time being, we'll only be able to do so through our virtual services."
CareerLink virtual services can be accessed by calling 814-940-6200 or visiting www.pacareerlink.pa.gov.
On the heels of a pandemic that kept the library's doors closed for months earlier in the year, Knisely said she's fearful the flooding will perpetuate the area's lack of library services, such as internet access, educational services and access to leisure reading materials.
"We're working with the ServPro mitigation crew to get things back to operational standards as quickly as possible," she said.
ServPro Project Manager Keith Bailey said he had 27 employees working on the library restoration Monday. Last week, his crews evacuated water from the building and moved the salvageable equipment, including thousands of childrens' books, into storage.
This week, they are stripping the floors down to the bare concrete, removing any potential for biological contamination picked up by the floodwaters on their way into the library through underground tunnels, Bailey said.
"The concrete is absolutely saturated with water," he said. "So, we have to get it exposed and let it dry out."