Flooding Hits Iowa Libraries

Flooding in mid-June in Iowa caused serious damage to three libraries, including the Cedar Rapids Public Library (CRPL). Floodwaters destroyed CRPL’s entire ground floor adult collection, according to a library spokeswoman; the children’s collection on the library’s second floor likely would be saved. At least seven libraries suffered “mild to fairly serious damage,” according to the State Library of Iowa.

The Cedar River, located in downtown Cedar Rapids, rose to 32 feet, breaking a 1929 record and putting some 100 blocks under water, with 3200 homes evacuated, according to the AP. CRPL, located just one block from the river, was evacuated June 12. According to a message posted June 16 by interim director Tamara Glise on the State Library of Iowa web site, “We are all trying to take the optimistic view that our library is more than a building full of books: our treasure is our staff, and they are all safe.”

Also severely affected was the National Czech & Slovak Museum and Library (pictured). “The staff of the [library] does not yet know the extent of the damage,” stated President/CEO Gail Naughton on the organization’s web site shortly after the flood. “We were able to remove many items from the collection to safety before flood waters came.”

In Des Moines, the threat of floods led city officials to turn the Des Moines Public Library central library, extensively renovated in 2006, into the city’s emergency management center, housing several departments and 170 employees, including the offices of the mayor and city council. As a result, all events scheduled for the library meeting rooms through June 30 were canceled.

The second floor of Des Moines’s central facility was closed to the public, though library service continued on the first floor. While public Internet workstations were not available, the library still offered Wi-Fi. The city’s Action Center was moved to the library, and the city’s TV station also broadcast from inside the building.

The state library web site compiled messages from libraries around the state. The Cedar Falls & Waterloo Public Libraries reported two to three inches of water throughout the library basement, necessitating the removal of the carpet. The Columbus Junction Public Library was closed in mid-June, not because of flooding of the building but because city officials needed the library parking lot. In Coralville, where a newly expanded and renovated library opened in May, the library reported being “deluged with patrons seeking Internet access.”

At the University of Iowa in Iowa City, volunteers formed human chains to move more than 100,000 books and other materials from the threatened basement of the Main Library to higher ground, reported the Des Moines Register. The Main Library took in two inches of water, according to a message on the state library web site, and campus buildings were expected to lack electricity for a week, leading to expected problems with mold and mildew.