HARTFORD, Conn. — A tough start to the holidays for employees at the Hartford Public Library's downtown branch, who got a call Christmas eve morning that water was pouring into the building.
"I think we’re all still in a state of shock I look at my colleagues and we kind of just shake our heads like what is happening," said Bridget Quinn, president and CEO of the Hartford Public Library.
A pipe had burst on the third floor directly above one of the most important rooms, The Hartford History Center.
"The Hartford History Center holds the archives for the city of Hartford. We have special collections that document the history of Hartford back to the 1600s so this really is a very, very special collection so of course when we learned that this was impacted we all were panicking," Quinn said.
Fortunately, a bit of a Christmas miracle. None of the irreplaceable items in that room were ruined.
Still, the damage in that room and throughout the building is extensive.
Everything from ceilings to carpets to computers and couches was destroyed. Which means there is a long road ahead.
"There’s still some places that have some water so that will take the next week or two to figure that out and then depending on the extent of the damage it could be several weeks or a few months until we’re actually back in operations fully," Quinn said.
As crews work to make repairs, the library is working to develop plans to fill the void now left in the city by this closure.
"This building is home to more than just the library so it really is a true community center and we have to make plans to relocate that," Quinn said. "We’re currently developing a plan to extend hours at our branches," she said.
Programs and services will also be relocated to other branches.
Two Kwanzaa events scheduled for December 29th will be moved to the Albany Ave. branch. From 12-1 p.m. there will be a Kwanzaa storytelling with Andre Keitt. From 1- 5 p.m. there will be a presentation by Sankofah Kuumba Cultural Arts Consortium.
The current hours for the other branches are below:
Albany Library
1250 Albany Ave.
Monday through Thursday: 10:00-6:00
Fridays: 10:00-5:00
860-695-7380
Barbour Library
261 Barbour St.
Monday through Thursday: 10:00-6:00
Fridays: 10:00-5:00
860-695-7400
Camp Field Library
30 Campfield Ave.
Monday through Thursday: 10:00-6:00
Fridays: 10:00-5:00
860-695-7440
Dwight Library
7 New Park Ave.
Monday through Thursday: 10:00-6:00
Fridays: 10:00-5:00
860-695-7460
Park Street Library @ the Lyric
603 Park St.
Monday through Thursday: 10:00-6:00
Fridays: 10:00-5:00
860-695-7500
Gaby Molina is a reporter and anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at mmolina@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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