Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Leak Hits Lexington Public Library

A burst pipe flooded parts of the Lexington (KY) Public Library overnight on Monday, causing closures on Tuesday and an immediate effort to save rare books damaged by the water. The Lexington Herald reported yesterday that "Some of the most-damaged pieces will be flash-frozen and moved by truck to a Chicago company that specializes in repairing damaged books."

Today, an update makes clear that the prognosis is good: few if any volumes are believed to have been irreparably destroyed, and the Library's run of Kentucky Gazette newspapers from 1787-1840 escaped any damage.