The above and below photos are the "aftermath" of our school library having flooded from a busted water pipe the weekend of December 20/21. The above photo shows them replacing part of the carpet where the wood under it had buckled. In this last Monday's post I had reported that we had 370 books damaged and that I wasn't finished going through all the books yet. Looks like we are now done and 596 books were damaged when the water pipe broke. Most of the books were lost in the history section of our library. Water also came down and destroyed most of our Shakespeare books and some of the poetry.
Many kids would say that that isn't a loss, lol. They'd be more worried that the books in the Twilight Saga Series by Stephenie Meyer were destroyed. Even if the water came down in the fiction section of our library, those books would be safe, as every one of the books in that series were checked out over the Christmas break! Ever since the movie "Twilight" came out, we can't keep the books on the shelves. They were pretty popular even before the movie came out. You can get some info over at The Official Website of Stephenie Meyer. Presently there are four books in the series. Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. For those fans I found out that there is another in the works called "Midnight Sun." I need to read at least the first book, so I can see what the kids are so ga-ga about. I'm just not a vampire fan and haven't had the desire to read them. Have any of you read them and how did you like them?
Now the Harry Potter series - that's a totally different story. I'm a huge fan of that series. The first book was out a year before I finally read it and I couldn't put it down. Took me about two days to read the first book. Then as the rest were published I was at the store that day to buy it, lol. Okay, I wasn't so bad that I was at the store before midnight. My hat's off to those that were, though.
Below are more pictures of the "aftermath" of the flood. As we went through the books on the shelves, we placed the bad ones on the tables.
Below is a close up of some of the damaged books. Just today a representative of Follette Corporation (a book supplier) came out to survey the damage. They are offering us a pretty sweet deal if we go through them to get the books replaced through our insurance. We also will have a representative from another major book supplier, that we also buy our books from, come out this next week. My boss (our school librarian) wants to hear from both before he makes his decision as to which to go through to get all these books replaced.
I was crushed to see the mess this whole thing left our school library in. My hat's off to our custodial staff. They have done a tremendous job cleaning up and drying out the carpet. There were two inches of water that they had to deal with. I have been working very hard wiping down all the surfaces and it's getting there. My last big project is washing down all the shelves that the water and ceiling tiles came down on. This week I can bring the live plants back to work. I take them home to care for them over long holiday breaks and summer. I bought two of them and one of the staff donated one of the others. They add that welcoming feeling to the place.
I was hired the fall of 2007 and the previous person could care less about how the library looked. I love to decorate and slowly, using my own money, I would find bargains of nice items and plants to put on display. We have been getting lots of compliments from the students and the staff about how inviting the library now is. I had a few of the staff tell me that before I was hired the library was like a tomb. The previous person was so mean (as the kids and staff put it) that no one liked to come in. I also like to decorate for the different holidays and seasons. My next goal is to find nice/gently used furniture. We just need a matching couch and loveseat and hopefully some matching lounge chairs.
The library is really coming along and that is pretty exciting. We are recovering from the aftermath of this disaster.
Wishing you a great day in your part of the world,
Biker Betty :)
25 comments:
What a shame to lose so much literature, but it sounds like replacement cost won't be to bad. I hope you can sort it all out - my head would explode!
What a shame that so many books were damaged. And wow, what a lot of work to fix everything up again! I haven't read the Twilight Saga Series yet but am looking forward to reading them. I have read all the Harry Potter books though!
What a mess in the aftermath! My heart hurt to read so many ooks were destroyed, as I am an avid reader of almost anything! Your aftermath photo was perfect though...sorry for the loss...My hunt is up, please come and visit
How terrible about the books. Hope it all works out for you and the library in the end.
Happy Weekend.
I'm sorry the library and books got damaged, and I hope all of the books can be replaced. It sounds like you have a very fun job!
Nice job on the theme. And I shared your enthusiasm for the Harry Potter series. I bought the first book for my youngest son one Christmas, but he already had it, so I read it. I was hooked from the beginning.
i feel awful for the books. i hope you were able to salvage as much! nice entry for an aftermath! mine is posted here.
enjoy the weekend!
Well, I think you are really wonderful. For many years of my life, libraries were my favorite buildings. :)
I canNOT read the Twilight series, just typing the name gooses me right out.
I adore the HP books and have read them all numerous times.
I got the first of the series that starts with The Spook's Apprentice, written by Joseph Delaney - but it actually scared me. Have you read any of them?
That is so terrible to lose all those books to a broken pipe. I am sorry about that aftermath from the water damage.
Personally don't care much for film adaptationns of books but if it gets kids reading, I applaud the aftermath of that happening! ;)
Looks like a lot of books were lost. Sorry to hear that. Have a great weekend.
A flood in a library has to be a nightmare! And even worse that it's a place so close to your heart. I do hope it can be sorted out without too much more trouble.
Thanks for visiting mine. I love bikes, too!
It's such a shame to lose so many books but good for the janitorial staff for their hard work. Happy weekend
What a mess, and it's a shame that so many books were damaged.
I'm a big Twilight fan, I've already started rereading the series again... can't get enough of Bella and Edward!
Well at least the kids are reading "Twilight" and that's good.
Looks like you still got a lot of clean-up work to do.
Good ;uck with washing the shelves.
Cheers
oh that is terrible....well I most probably wounldn't have missed the history books either if I was a teenager...but now....history books, Shakespear...oh my heart is sad...I hope they are able to replace the books....
Great post for the theme
Oh poor books!!! This happened once to where I work, some kiddos put in the hose and left it open :(
Glad you are recovering from this! Thanks for visiting mine and have a great week!
Very excellent take on the theme. I am glad to see things are getting back to normal, but sad to see so many books damaged.
You must be so proud of the personal touches you have added to the library. Great job.
As a plumber I've seen all sorts of damage from leaking or burst water lines over the years. It's sad to see it in a library, especially a school library. I've loved books and been an avid reader my whole life. I'm really glad you stand to do well in getting your damaged books replaced.
LOL on the Shakespeare section - I wouldn't have missed that too much as a kid either, though for me Nathaniel Hawthorne was the worst to digest. Your students are lucky to have someone like you running it now - someone who actually cares.
Besides "The Stand," one of my favorite page-turners of all time is "Shogun," by James Clavell. Ever read it? If not, I highly recommend it. It's around 1250 pages and I've read it twice.
Best of luck w/getting things back in order.
Surprise! It's me. I really need to come by more often!
So sorry to hear about the books!
Sounds like you've found your niche as far as warming up the library. That sounds like a lot of fun to decorate it. They're lucky to have you!
Just wanted to say "Hi!" I saw you were back to blogging and smiled. Haven't had much of worth to add. Been here, though.
you are a blessing to them for sure!!
My daughters have all read that series of books. Every blogger out there seems to be reading or have read it. I don't know what is wrong with me. Just don't want to do it.
What a shame to see such a mess! It must be heart-wrenching to see the books soaking wet. Hope they can still be salvaged.
that's literally picking up the pieces of an aftermath... such a loss to throw away the books that couldn't be saved even if help from the insurance is coming along.
on another note, most libraries are just a structure with books- no life at all and the staff unfriendly. I would love to visit your library- seems "homey" and welcoming! :-)
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