More Water Damage at
Canada’s National Library
Sprinklers went off in a sub-basement of the National Library of Canada in Ottawa early in the morning of March 6, causing extensive damage to valuable materials on that level and the one below it. The sprinkler system was activated by the heat generated by the welding torches of workers making repairs to expansion joints, according to Library Media Relations Officer Pauline Portelance.
Although plastic coverings were in place at the welding site, the water damaged government documents from the 1920s and 1930s, children’s books, videocassettes, maps, and 19th-century reissues of 17th-century lithographs. “Everything is being dried right now by huge fans,” Portelance told the Canadian Broadcasting Company March 6. “A lot of the documents that were damaged are in freezers right now, so it’s going to take a while to repair the work.”
National Librarian Roch Carrier said this was the 72nd incident involving water damage in the past 10 years. “It is tragic that, again, our published heritage was harmed. I am grateful for the efficiency and experience of the National Library staff, who are now experts at flood damage control,” he said. Last October, Carrier estimated the cumulative damage from flood incidents at more than 25,000 items worth an estimated $2 million ($1.28 million U.S.).
Posted March 11, 2002.
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