Flooding from Tuesday storm shuts down Haverhill Library

Haverhill Public Library has temporarily closed its doors after Tuesday night’s storm led to serious flooding. However, local bookworms need not fret: The library is set to begin reopening this Tuesday, according to its director Sarah Moser.

“Miraculously, the collections really weren’t affected at all,” Moser told Boston.com. “We had a few CDs get wet, a few books get wet, but they’re being dried out … The only real damage was [to the] ceiling tiles and carpet.”

A small cleanup crew was on site Wednesday morning to start the repairs, which will be funded by the library’s Board of Trustees, Moser said. The library is currently relying on industrial-strength fans to dry the carpet and walls. 

“I think it’s one of those things where it’s not as bad as the pictures look,” Moser said. “We kind of got lucky. It’s not as extensive as it could have been.”

First established in 1873, Haverhill Public Library has long been a cornerstone of the Haverhill community, deeming itself a “gateway to lifelong learning” on its Facebook page. The building that flooded on Tuesday was opened in 1969 to replace the original 1873 facility. 

“We know that people rely on us and want us to be open. So it’s our goal to do that as quickly as possible, but to do it the right way and make sure we’re cleaning up correctly, getting everything safe, functional, and back to normal,” Moser said. “We don’t want to open prematurely and do it wrong, but we want to do it as quickly as we can.”

Another incident from the same storm occurred at the Newport Historical Society in Rhode Island, where a collection of more than 8,000 historic photographs is currently being dried out after being damaged by flooding.

Meanwhile, local communities are bracing for yet another rain event Friday night that could further exacerbate flooding problems.

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