Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Fairbanks' 33-Year-Old Library Facility Showing Its Age


Link to August 10 Fairbanks News-Miner article, "Maintenance problems piling up at Noel Wien Library".

Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - Maintenance problems piling up at Noel Wien Library

Excerpt: Plastic sheets cover bookcases in the Alaskana and adult fiction sections at the Noel Wien Public Library because rainwater is leaking through clefts in the roof.

The building’s pipes are corroding. The trees in the lobby are diseased. Electrical outlets in the facility are scarce.

“When this building was built,” Library Director Greg Hill said, “there was no Internet.”

The building has two separate heating and cooling systems from different eras, and the temperature in parts of the building can vary by 10 degrees.

In all, the library needs about $17 million for maintenance plus a new multi-purpose room and lobby.

No comments: