Information about the water leak at the Boston Athenæum

Updates from Paula D. Matthews, Stanford Calderwood Director and Librarian

 

February 1, 2011 at 4:00 p.m.

 

We were able to open the Red Doors this morning at 9:00 am. However, due to weather conditions, we closed at 3:00 pm today. As the weather situation continues we are uncertain about tomorrow's opening. Please check our web site at www.bostonathenaeum.org

 

 

During the brief period we were able to be open to members, we welcomed the first four Athenaeum members into the building - including Amy Ryan, President of the Boston Public Library, shown above with Paula Matthews. We would like to share these photos, as well as pictures of our rug-less but cleaned up floors in the Long Room, Bow Room and Reading Room.

 

 

I want to thank all of you who have come forward with donations to help us with the recovery. We are extremely fortunate that the events of the last week resulted in limited damage to our permanent collections. The Boston Athenaeum has very robust insurance, but it will not cover all of the costs of the recent water leak on the first floor. We are asking for your assistance as we take steps to undo the damage of the water leak and to improve several aspects of collection condition and storage.

 

 

Your gift will assist us as we undertake to conserve nineteenth and twentieth century books from the circulating collection; repair damaged oriental rugs and furniture; stabilize and clean the card catalog, which dates back to the nineteenth century; make essential improvements in building systems; clean shelving and floors; cover the deductible on our insurance policy; and do myriad other tasks necessary to re-open the building to members. If you wish to make a donation to aid the recovery, please contact Karen Beach at 617-720-7641 and beach@bostonathenaeum.org, or Paula Matthews at 617-720-7661 and matthews@bostonathenaeum.org.

 

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January 31, 2011 at 5:30 p.m.

I am pleased to report that we will definitely re-open the Athenaeum tomorrow, Tuesday, February 1st at 9:00 am. Staff members will be at their stations to provide services, answer phone calls and emails and generally welcome our members back through the Red Doors at 10 1/2.

We have rescheduled tomorrow evening's event because of possible weather conditions. Please be advised that William Kuhn’s book talk, Reading Jackie: Her Autobiography in Books, has been rescheduled until Tuesday, February 8th, at 6:00 pm.  If you have reserved for this event, your reservation is secure. If you wish to be placed on a wait list, please call the reservation line: 617.720.7600

The Maisie Houghton talk has been rescheduled until Thursday May 5th noon. All events will be going forward as planned - weather permitting - for the rest of the season.

Please remember that all fines which might have accrued during the past 10 days will be automatically forgiven.

Answers to frequently asked questions regarding the flood can be found here.

I am sharing an image of the Disaster Response Team: Paula Matthews, John Lannon, James Reid-Cunningham, David Dearinger, and Mike Pagliaro (not shown: Hina Hirayama).

 

 

These staff members have been in the building managing the myriad and complex tasks needed to allow us to re-open tomorrow. Please take an opportunity to join me in thanking them each and everyone.

We are looking forward to tomorrow morning at 9:00 am. I want to thank all of our members for their patience during this time of inconvenience, as well as for the literally hundreds of messages of support, concern and good wishes. I want to also thank many of our members who have stepped forward with offers of donations which will help us to restore this wonderful building and our historic collections.

 

January 30, 2011 at 7:30 p.m.

We are still on schedule to open to members Tuesday morning at 9:00 am - weather permitting!

The Disaster Team has put together answers to Frequently Asked Questions here.

The entire staff is looking forward to seeing many of you this week. The hundreds of message have proven what a vital part the Athenaeum plays in many of your lives. We look forward to opening up those red doors.

 

January 28, 2011 at noon

I am pleased to report that repairs to the sprinkler system are moving forward and other recovery efforts are ongoing.
 
Our goal remains to re-open to Tuesday morning, February 1st  at 9:00 am.
 
We hope that the Tuesday evening and Thursday evening lecture will go on as planned.
 
I will send out confirmation later in the weekend - but we do hope to see many of you back at 10 1/2 on Tuesday.
 
When you do come back in, some things will look different. Our rugs are still being restored. The Bornheimer Room on the First Floor will be closed and empty for several weeks. Around 1,000 volumes from the basement will be offsite receiving conservation treatment.
 
What remains the same are collections and our staff members who are committed to providing our members with the best services we possibly can.
 
I want to thank you once again for your continuing messages of support and encouragement.

 

January 26, 2011 at 4:30 p.m

Today contractors cut holes in the ceiling of the Bornheimer Room and - voila! - we discovered the source of our water leak from Monday:  a burst iron sprinkler pipe.
 
The repair of the broken pipe will allow us to restart the sprinkler and fire alarm systems. We are aiming to open the building early next week. We are hoping that Tuesday evening's lecture will go on as planned.
 
After evaluating the damages to our collections, we are happy to report that none of the Atheneaum's paintings, sculptures, works on paper, or rare books were damaged nor were its exhibition spaces threatened. Damage to several rugs and a few pieces of furniture was minimal. More than 1,000 books from the circulating collection, some dating back the early 19th Century, have been removed from the building for treatment. We are optimistic that all volumes will return in a usable condition.
 
More reports will follow over the weekend to alert you all to the actual day and time of opening. But I did want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your support and concern during this difficult time. We have received literally hundreds of messages and phone calls, and our Facebook and Twitter accounts have been very active. It is a wonderful reminder of what the Athenaeum means to so many of you - both our collections and our historic building.

 

January 25, 2011 at 5 p.m
Environmental conditions inside the building are stable at this time. Given the volume of water in building, damage to the collections has
been minimal so far.

The rugs and curtains were removed for cleaning.

The art movers have moved all of the artwork out of the Bornheimer Room and have moved most of the artwork along the walls of the Long Room to allow us to gain access to walls that may be damp inside.

Baseboards in many places in the building were removed to allow us to blow dry air into the wall cavities.

We shifted many sections of the card catalog in the basement to allow access to wet walls. The wet catalog drawers are still being air-dried in situ, although if some are still damp on Wednesday, they will likely be moved off-site for drying.

A sweep of the basement stacks looking for wet books missed Monday night was completed. Fortunately, we found none.

On Wednesday, the process of drying the walls will continue. The ceiling in the Bornheimer room will be opened up so that we can find out what specifically caused the flood. Contractors will evaluate how to repair the damage and get the sprinklers and the electrical system back on line on the first floor.

We will be closed Wednesday AND Thursday. We do not yet know about Friday and Saturday. All events will be rescheduled.
Please continue to check our website for updates.

Messages and phone calls are still pouring in. The support of our members has been very gratifying during this difficult time.

 

January 25, 2011 at 12 p.m.
All of the damp/wet books in the basement have been removed for treatment. There are approximately 1,000 books which will need to be dried.
 
The art objects in the Bornheimer Room have been removed so that we can open the ceilings to determine what caused the leak. This will happen tomorrow (Wednesday) morning.
 
The damaged rugs have been dried and taken out to be cleaned.
 
We are shifting art objects in the Long Room and basement in order to have access to damp areas inside the walls.
 
The portions of the card catalog that got wet yesterday are being air-dried, and it seems as if there will be no permanent loss.
 
We have been touched by the many emails from members, offering support and help. It is clear that for many the Athenæum plays a very important place in their daily lives. We are grateful for all the good wishes.
 
The Athenæum will be closed Wednesday and Thursday.

 

January 24, 2011
The Boston Athenæum experienced a serious water leak this afternoon around 3:00 pm. The water spread across the floor in the first floor Long Room, the Newspaper Reading Room, the Bow Room and down the corridor towards the Children's Library.

Several paintings were splashed, several pieces of wooden furniture and five large oriental rugs were also damaged. Water leaked into the basement book stacks in many locations. One to two thousand circulating books got wet. They will be sent off-site to be dried.

The Athenæum's Disaster Response Program - led by John Lannon, Associate Director and Jim Reid-Cunningham, our Chief Conservator  - went into effect immediately.This successfully minimized damage to library and art collections. Staff members and patrons cleared the building quickly, the fire department came within 10 minutes, as did our fire alarm and sprinkler contractors.

We have called in Munter's Moisture Control, who specialize in disaster response in cultural institutions, to remove the water and stabilize the interior environment. Tomorrow we will evaluate damage to library collections and will determine which objects will require specialized conservation treatment.

It was a text-book response to a flood, and I am very grateful for the immediate response from the library's disaster team as well as from the fire department and our contractors. It could have been much worse.

We will will be closed until further notice. Tea on Wednesday is definitely cancelled. We are also cancelling the Thursday noon talk by Maisie Houghton and the evening movie. For further updates please check our website at www.bostonathenaeum.org.

We apologize to all of you for this inconvenience. Please know that fines on any books due while the library is closed will be forgiven. Most staff will remain at home, so please do not attempt to call them directly.

I thank you for your individual and collective patience. I hope to see many of you again in the near future, when the red doors at 10 1/2 will open once again.