Donna Dunlop couldn’t stop smiling as she walked between the new shelves installed at the Hopkinton Town Library on Wednesday.
Dunlop, the library’s director, along with her staff of employees and volunteers, has watched the library transform from a scene of disaster last August when the building’s cupola caught fire in a lightning storm to a new – and, yes, improved – facility that is set to reopen this summer.
Now, nine months after the fire, Dunlop walks through the building and can see the clearest sign that the recovery effort is almost complete: books back on the shelves.
“I’m still in a state of shock, and frankly a bit of a state of disbelief that it’s all going to come back,” said Dunlop, who will give a presentation about the library’s recovery at the New Hampshire Library Association on Thursday.
“It’s been an incredible nine months,” she said. “If anything, it has really confirmed that the community values the library.”
Thousands of volumes were damaged as the result of the fire. Although the flames were contained to the cupola – which has since been replaced – water poured down into the space beneath it, damaging books and furniture. The books that were not totally destroyed have been wiped clean, one-by-one, and are sliding back onto shelves.
The library’s renovations still aren’t complete, but a new welcome desk and the re-shelving of books that were held in storage for months are a sign that reopening is near.
However, reorganizing a library filled with thousands of volumes is no easy feat.
Library employees and workers from National Library Relocations, a company that specializes in moving thousands of books at a time, are sifting through about 1,200 boxes of books in the coming days to bring order back.
During renovations, the building received added insulation, new ADA compliant front doors, a cafe area, and two glass-enclosed study spaces for people to work quietly or meet with a tutor.
The area beneath the cupola now has a ceiling which will limit the amount of natural light but improve energy efficiency. Those improvements have been the “silver lining” to the fire, Dunlop said.
Library officials are aiming to reopen some time after Memorial Day. A grand re-opening is scheduled for June 9 from 3 to 5 p.m. with music by the Tall Granite Big Band, crafts, a cake and more, Dunlop said.
Lightning struck the building during a passing storm around 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 3. Fire crews responded to a fire alarm and arrived to find the cupola ablaze and the building filling with smoke. While the fire itself didn’t do extensive damage, the smoke and water did.
As officials in Hopkinton set up a plan to recover the library, surrounding communities stepped up to support their neighbors. Hopkinton library cards are still being honored at libraries in several surrounding communities, including Concord, Dunbarton, Henniker, New England College, Hillsborough, Warner, Weare and Webster.
“We got more than a little help from our friends,” Dunlop said. “The community really rallied with people coming forward with monetary donations and all sorts of support. Primex has been amazing, our insurance company has been extraordinary, and all of the local libraries that opened their doors to our patrons.”