Water Leak at Navy Library
Damages 700 Books
An overnight water leak April 16 damaged approximately 700 books at the 200-year-old Navy Department Library in the Washington (D.C.) Navy Yard. Staff noticed the leak early in the morning and quickly began covering affected areas, moving materials, and contacting other agencies for assistance.
Within six hours, 500 of the most severely damaged books had been inventoried and packed for freeze-drying; within 24 hours, commercial disaster-recovery experts had arrived with a generator, dehumidifier, and 20-ton air conditioner. “We were very fortunate to get someone in right away,” library Director Jean Hort told American Libraries. The staff’s quick action and the intervention of trained experts limited what could have been a major disaster to the 200,000-volume collection, she said.
Approximately 100 books had to be discarded, Hort said, noting that the library’s rare-book collection, which is housed in a secure vault, was unaffected. The most heavily damaged materials were shipped to a Texas vault, and the library reopened April 25.
Posted April 29, 2002.
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