Hopkinton residents won’t be without books while their beloved library is closed, but they will have to drive a little further than usual to get them.
Town administrator Neal Cass said Monday evening that “almost all” of the surrounding towns will honor Hopkinton library cards after a lightning strike Friday night sparked a fire in the cupola, causing heavy smoke damage to most of the building and materials.
Details about how the arrangement will work, such as whether the libraries will be offering temporary library cards for Hopkinton patrons, are still being worked out, Cass said. He said the Concord City Council will be discussing the issue at their meeting next week.
Cass advised people to watch the library’s website and Facebook page as more information becomes available. It will be the first of many updates for residents, as it becomes clear that the library will be closed for several months while the fire-related damage is repaired.
“We’re encouraging people not to go,” Cass said to the select board. “We’re getting people who want to help, but there’s nothing they can do at this point.”
The cupola sustained heavy fire damage and collapsed into the building, and the materials directly beneath the dome were drenched. And while few books were damaged by the water, pervasive smoke damage touched most of the books.
The carpet will have to be ripped up – it was scheduled for replacement next year anyway, Cass noted – and the walls cut into as part of the repair process.
There are some bright spots, however: the fire did not reach the Community Room or the Local History Room, and Cass said the Community Room could be reopened in a week or two. A Vietnam War program hosted by New Hampshire Humanities that was supposed to take place at the library Thursday will take place at the town hall instead.
And Servpro, the company handling the cleanup, will be moving the books to a warehouse in Bow by the end of this week. A selection will be cleaned, Cass said, to see if any of the books are salvageable.
In the meantime, the town is seeking two desks to set up a temporary office for the library at the Slusser Center. Materials loaned out can be returned to the town hall, Cass said.
But please, no donated books for now, Cass said. “We have no place to put them,” he said.
(Caitlin Andrews can be reached at 369-3309, candrews@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @ActualCAndrews.)