Mike Salsbury/The Olympian
Cheryl Heywood, community librarian for the Olympia Timberland Regional library, looks over earthquake damage at the downtown library on Thursday.

library begins cleanup, awaits next chapter

Kids' storytime finished up right before the earthquake

RUTH LONGORIA, THE OLYMPIAN

OLYMPIA -- The Olympia Timberland Regional library looked like a scene from the movie "Ghostbusters" Wednesday, as books flew off shelves.

But fortunately, officials say, the library had few patrons at the time and those who were there stayed calm and dove for cover.

But now that the chaos is over, the cleanup and repairs begin. The library will remain closed until further notice.

With piles of books and ceiling tiles cluttering the floor, heating ducts and lighting fixtures hanging from ceilings, and a half-dozen 8-foot-long cracks in the walls, it may be a while before the downtown Olympia library reopens, officials said.

The library received a yellow-tag rating from city building inspectors, which means the building must remain closed until structural inspections are completed.

"But, with all of this cleanup, we won't be opening for quite a while. The library will be closed until further notice," said Cheryl Heywood, community head librarian at Timberland Regional library.

Despite visible damage, the library -- which was built in the mid-1970s -- appears to have withstood the rapid ground movement fairly well structurally, said Ed Kenny, lead worker for the city.

"The cracks appear to be in the brick veneer facing and there doesn't seem to be any major structural damage," Kenny said. "But we'll know more after engineers go over the building plans."

Structural engineers will give a report on damage in three to four days, he said, but actual estimates for repairs may take much longer.

Most of the damage occurred in the parts of the library not included in recent remodeling, Heywood said.

library shelves stayed in place, thanks to bolts securing them to the floor.

However, the children's section, which was part of the remodel, now has more books on the floor than on the shelves.

"Luckily, a children's storytime program had just finished, so nobody was in this area during the earthquake," Heywood said.

After the quake, patrons were evacuated immediately, she said.

Heywood and circulation supervisor Leo Scarpelli were in the library during the earthquake.

"It was pretty impressive, but surprisingly calm, and there was no panic," Scarpelli said.

"All you could hear was people yelling, 'Take cover,' '' Scarpelli said. "And the noise of the building as books, chairs and parts of the ceiling fell to the floor."

Ruth Longoria writes for The Olympian. She can be reached at 754-5435.

Using the library

The Olympia Timberland Regional library will be closed until further notice for cleanup and repairs from Wednesday's earthquake.

library patrons with books on hold should call a different Timberland Regional library and have their items sent to that library, or ask for an extension of the pick-up date.

Those with checked-out books can return them to any Timberland Regional library.

The Olympian Copyright 2000

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