Norfolk's central library plagued by leaks, fires and failures

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Norfolk's central library plagued by leaks, fires and failures

By DEBBIE MESSINA, The Virginian-Pilot

© March 27, 2006

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NORFOLK - In a single week at Kirn Memorial Library this month, an

aging light fixture caught fire, an exterior glass wall started

collapsing inward, and the public elevator quit, trapping patrons

inside.

The elevators break down weekly, and lights sometimes smoke and

sizzle. Then there are the recurring water leaks, mold, inconsistent

heat and air conditioning, and black flakes that float down from air

vents.

There's no disputing that the city's 44-year-old central library,

the flagship of the library system, is in bad shape.

The chairwoman of the library's Board of Trustees rattled a few city

leaders recently when she made a surprisingly bold public plea for

replacing Kirn - immediately.

" It is self-destructing each and every day, " Roslyn G. Brown said at

the groundbreaking for a regional library in Ocean View .

Ann , president of the Friends of the Norfolk Public Library,

agrees.

" I encourage people to visit Kirn, try to use the elevators and

really take a good look around. … I think it's a disgrace, "

said.

" We have this wonderful revitalization of downtown, a new mall, new

office buildings. I feel like Kirn doesn't make the physical city

look good. It's not up to snuff with what's going on around it. "

Officials acknowledge that Kirn - on City Hall Avenue, across from

MacArthur Center - and the entire library system need attention. Yet

the city has limited resources and a backlog of needs, including a

new courthouse and water, sewer and road improvements.

" There is never enough money, " Councilman W. Randy said.

" We've got school buildings that are suffering out there, too. We

have fire buildings where firefighters sleep with nets over them to

keep stuff from falling on them from the ceiling. "

Mayor D. Fraim conceded that the libraries had been neglected

during lean financial times, but he added that the city is investing

more in public libraries now than it has in more than 40 years .

A $9.5 million regional, or " anchor, " branch is under construction

at the former Pretlow site on Granby Street , and a second is

planned for Broad Creek. Thirty computers have been installed in two

branches, and there are plans for the same at all locations in the

next three years .

" There's no question Kirn needs to be replaced, " Fraim said. " We

have a number of challenges in the city with a series of priorities.

The library is right at the top. We'll address it as soon as we have

the opportunity to revive our capital budget. "

Tidewater Community College has proposed combining resources to

build a shared downtown library. The city is considering the idea.

A consultant's report in 1998 described Kirn as " shabby " and " run-

down. "

" The reality is Kirn is worn out and in need of serious work, " said

Norman Maas , Norfolk Public Library director. " We need to put a new

library in as quickly as we can. "

The report also stated that all the library buildings were " too

small, understaffed, poorly maintained and outdated. " It also said

the book collection was " tired, dated and unresponsive. "

The consultant recommended replacing Kirn with a library that's more

than twice as large. It also called for four large regional

branches. And it recommended increasing the library's operating

budget by about $2 million . Norfolk's annual library budget is

about $6.9 million .

" The library does an exceptionally good job with what they have, "

said . In recent years, the system has launched several

preschool reading readiness programs; it is now embarking on

homework centers at many branches.

Still, conditions at Kirn have grown worse since the 1998 report.

The elevator that broke down a few weeks ago is still not fixed.

Maas said it's so old that getting parts for it is difficult.

Most patrons now use the stairs. Elderly people and families with

strollers are being directed to the staff elevator.

For a week after the fire in a fluorescent light in the third-floor

storage area, staffers carried flashlights because the electricity

was shut off until repairs could be made.

Within the p ast several months, only 30 light bulbs out of 180

recessed lights in the nonfiction section were working.

" You would go in there in the evenings, and it would be absolutely

pitch dark, " said Sonal Rastogi , main library manager.

A far-reaching problem is heating and air conditioning, which is

only in about two-thirds of the building. Maas said the city has

been working to correct some of the climate-control problems but is

far from done.

" It's a health and safety issue, " he said.

In the areas that are air- conditioned, temperatures cannot be

controlled consistently, causing problems with mold.

Last year , walls, ceilings and ducts were replaced in one office

because the mold was so bad.

Grandchamp , who works as a data analyst in that office, was

hospitalized with breathing problems, but doctors could not say mold

was the culprit.

" Some kind of infection had closed up my throat, " Grandchamp said.

Unsure of what caused the episode, he said leaving his library

job " crossed my mind, but I like my paycheck, I like my job, I like

what I'm doing. "

Librarians also have found mold growing on books in the corner of

the reference section next to the heating and air conditioning

vents. Some books were destroyed and others were cleaned, Rastogi

said .

In addition to mold, an unidentified black flaky substance falls out

of overhead vents in some areas of the library, Rastogi said.

" We're always worried about it, " said Phyllis White , an

acquisitions associate who has worked in the libraries for 30 years .

" But we've got to work here, so we do the best we can. I have a

terrible time with sinuses. "

Because one-third of the building is not temperature-controlled, the

buildup of heat and humidity is destroying the books stored there,

Maas said. Many are part of the library's valuable local history

collection.

" Collections are sitting up there roasting and toasting, " Brown

said. " Lots of books are crumbling. "

Leaks also cause damage. Last fall , a gusher destroyed many boxes

of books that were to have been sold at a fundraising event,

said.

" The sentiment I hear most from the general public is that they used

to put up with the library being shabby because the city was broke, "

Maas said. " But now that the city has come back in the last 10

years , the expectation has changed. "

The system was so far behind, he said, that the library will be

playing catch-up for at least 10 years .

Over the past five years , the library operating budget has grown to

$6.9 million, from $5.3 million, after several years of remaining

flat.

Staffing increased to 134 positions this year from 106 last year .

" We have made significant strides in funding the library system over

the last five to six years, " Fraim said, " but we still have a long

way to go. "

Reach Debbie Messina at (757)

446-2588 or debbie.messina@....