LITTLE ROCK — The reopening of the Sue Cowan Williams Library branch is tentatively set for Nov. 12, library system staff said Thursday.
The branch at 1800 Chester St. in Little Rock, has been closed since Sept. 17 because a pipe in the building's heating and air-conditioning system burst, dumping water onto books.
The ceiling pipe in the 10-year-old building was substandard or too small for an air-conditioning unit, something discovered during repairs, Bobby Roberts, director of the CentralArkansas Library System, told the system's Board of Trustees on Thursday.
"The pipe in the building was not the right gauge," leading to a premature breakdown, Roberts said. "How that [error] happened we don't know."
The entire pipe system needed to be replaced as a result of that discovery. That and repairs will cost about $70,000, Roberts said.
Linda Bly, the library system's deputy director, told trustees that the damage to books was about $5,000. Before the branch is operational, Bly added, workers must repair the ceiling, clean the carpet, replace book shelves and restock the books.
"We hope to reopen Nov. 12, or possibly before," Bly said.
This is the longest a library branch within the system has been completely shut down, Roberts said.
"We'll have an opening of it and get it going again," Roberts said. "It's been a big job."
In the meantime, patrons can use any of the system's 11 other branches in Pulaski County. Locations in Little Rock are: 100 Rock St., 3301 E. Roosevelt Road, 6325 Base Line Road, 823 N. Buchanan St., 2100 John Barrow Road, 2015 Napa Valley Drive and 38 Rahling Circle.
Arkansas, Pages 17 on 10/26/2007