MISSISSIPPI, USA - Katrina ‘Thanksgiving Team’ Update

Team of 17 returns with 6,000 damaged books from Long Beach, Mississippi after spending the Thanksgiving Holiday cleaning out the hurricane damaged public library.

The books are now at ‘Sozo’, 256 E. Beaver, where Sue Kellerman, Head of Preservations Department, University Libraries, and her team will take a look them in the next few days. The type of processing/cleaning they require will determine, where they will go next, then to storage till the Library repairs as complete. This will also determine what we are to do with the remaining salvageable books.

Preliminary conclusions are that approximately 25,000 books out of a collection of 60,000 can be salvaged. This number has steadily gone up. The entire 2nd floor collection and 7,000 from the first floor top shelves in portions of the first floor are salvageable. The remainder on the first floor books were separated and wiped down with a special solution.

A meeting was arranged with the Mayor, Librarian, Chair of Library Board, and Head of local Rotary Club. There were 3 major developments: First, it was agreed that the building could be repaired. An official engineering assessment was just completed. Second, in general terms, the Rotary would be responsible for the structural and exterior repairs and KRTF would concentrate on interior repairs, refurbishing and restocking. Third, we were given permission to begin to clean debris from the library.

A leader in the local Rotary club, Bob Kranz, arranged the formal engineering assessment with a local licensed engineer. Report concluded library is sound and repairs needed. Engineer will email details to our volunteer engineers to draw up the plans which he will review and sign off on. The insurance company wants to brick up the foyer and most of the doors on the ocean side of the building. Bob has gotten a preliminary estimate on the repair of the foyer wall and will raise the money toward this. He has a commitment from someone to take care of the ac/heat unit. In general, Bob and the Rotary will concentrate on the outside. KRTF will concentrate on the interior.

We cleared out several tons of debris, books, equipment, and furniture. It was a gigantic, filthy job. Desks, counters, doors, etc. were demolished and removed.