Flooding Causes $1 Mil+ Damage at Louisville Public Library

Link to August 4 Louisville Courier-Journal article, "Main library hit hard by flooding".

Excerpt: [Library Director Craig] Buthod said up to 4 feet of water had poured into the basement of the Main Library, much of which is used for operations. Buthod said at least 10,000 books, audiobooks, CDs and DVDs were damaged. Many of the items were new and awaiting distribution to the branches. Buthod said the average cost per item was conservatively $20.

All three Bookmobiles parked at the Main Library were damaged by floodwaters, and water pressure blew out some basement windows. Conference and meeting rooms and offices located in the basement and their furnishings and finishings also were damaged.

Perhaps more seriously, all the Main Library's boilers, air-conditioning controls, chillers and air-handling equipment were water logged, with the extent of the damage impossible to assess until the water is pumped out, Buthod said. Some of the mechanical equipment was less than 10 years old, but some of it is much older, he said.


Link to WAVE-TV story and photos.

Excerpt: Louisville's main library faces a big cleanup after flooding rains.

Waterlogged library books were strewn across the lower level of Louisville's main library on Tuesday after a thunderstorm soaked downtown and flooded parts of the city.

Libary Director Craig Buthod says computers and "tens of thousands of books" have been lost to the water damage. He says three bookmobiles, staff vehicles and even his car were under water in the underground parking garage.