Washington Earthquake Causes
Some Library Closings
Six counties in western Washington state have been declared disaster areas following a magnitude-6.8 earthquake February 28 that caused an estimated $2 billion in damage to roads, buildings, and bridges in Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia. Though libraries in the region are reporting no significant structural damage, some have closed temporarily to assess the situation and clean up books knocked from shelves.
Some of the hardest hit were at the University of Washington in Seattle. Gordon Aamot, acting associate director for research and instructional services, told American Libraries that most of the ranges of stacks in the top floor of Suzzallo Library are “tilted precariously” and will require careful handling to set them upright. The Engineering and Fisheries-Oceanography libraries suffered significant damage to bookshelves and remained closed March 2. The buildings housing the Health Sciences, K. K. Sherwood, and Mathematics libraries also remain closed pending structural inspection.
Also badly shaken was the Washington State Law Library, located in Olympia next to the State Capitol building in which fractures appeared in the stone veneer covering the dome. The March 2 Olympian reported that at least half of the law library collection was either “on the floor or on a broken bookcase.” State engineers are inspecting all of the buildings in the Capitol Campus, including the Pritchard State Library, which is scheduled to reopen March 5.
Staff at the Evergreen State College library in Olympia are reshelving thousands of books that were knocked off shelves in the stacks, and the building’s fourth floor remained closed as of March 2 for extensive cleanup. The Olympia and Chehalis branches of the Timberland Regional Library also remained closed for repairs and cleanup.
The Seattle Public Library was scheduled to reopen March 3, giving staff a chance to reshelve fallen books and replace ceiling tiles and fixtures.
Posted March 5, 2001.
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