Municipal officials in Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, closed the public library March 27 as a precautionary measure after an engineering firm's report warned that there could be a sudden shift in the structure as a result of gaps in an old coal mine 30 feet under the building.
Explaining that the town and the entire county are riddled with abandoned coal mines, Library Director Ed Mandel told American Libraries that many buildings and homes in the area are built over old mines. He said subsidence can be a problem in the area, but the library is structurally sound and has sustained no damage.
After meeting with representatives from the Pennsylvania Bureau of Surface Mining, municipal officials are considering keeping the library closed until the gaps can be filled with liquid grout. The problem was discovered when engineers conducted tests for a building expansion that would triple the size of the facility to 33,000 square feet.
Posted April 5, 1999.