It may be a few weeks before the Haverhill Public Library is fully back on its feet after suffering water damage during recent storms.
Meanwhile, patrons may come inside to the front desk to pick up holds, request books, place new holds and take advantage of other basic services. Library Director Sarah I. Moser said Thursday building access remains limited
“We are waiting for the reconstruction company to give us a timeline. Hopefully, we will know more by mid-week next week. Until then, we will keep things as is. It will probably be at least few weeks until things look normal again,” she told WHAV.
As WHAV reported last week, the library’s collection is safe, but carpets must dry out, areas behind walls checked and ceiling tiles replaced.
City building officials originally theorized because only about half the building rises three stories, water may have risen up over the flashing cap between the taller portion of the building and the flat roof below.
“We just had 18 inches of snow. We got a lot of rain and we got a lot of wind. My guess is before the snow melted enough to properly drain that roof, the wind and rain penetrated the flashing along the side wall which corresponds to the damage on the first floor,” an official told WHAV at the time.