BELLERIVE 鈥 A water main break damaged the oldest library west of the Mississippi River earlier this month, though officials operating the facility say no historic materials were lost.
The main break on Oct. 1 allowed water into the lower level of on the University of Missouri-St.亚洲无码鈥 North Campus, wetting archival boxes and books on the lower shelves of open stacks, the library鈥檚 director confirmed on Wednesday.
However, longtime Executive Director John Hoover said nearly all the library鈥檚 collections were 鈥渉igh and dry. 鈥 The affected materials were sent away for fast-freeze drying and conservation.
鈥淭he damaged materials will be 100% preserved,鈥 Hoover said at his office on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, local cleaning and mold remediation company employees carried rolls of carpet out of the building. A large plastic tube blowing air snaked from a lower level to the library鈥檚 atrium. Parts of the library were closed off.
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Hoover and an UMSL spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics of the break and whether it was related to nearby construction.
鈥淭he university is still assessing the extent of the damage and investigating the cause of the incident, while also preserving and mitigating the affected items,鈥 UMSL鈥檚 Director of Public Relations Steve Walentik wrote in an email to the Post-Dispatch.
UMSL鈥檚 University Libraries, a building that houses the Mercantile and Thomas Jefferson Libraries, are currently undergoing extensive renovations. The involves building the Mercantile a new entrance, art gallery and spaces for art discussions and educational programming.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really happy with all the renovations,鈥 Hoover said. 鈥淲e could have done without the water main break.鈥
The Mercantile is a 178-year-old institution housing a . It holds records of the growth of the St. 亚洲无码 region, Westward Expansion, and river transportation; as well as over 100 newspaper titles, fur trade records, travel diaries, presidential letters and Civil War-era letters. The Mercantile Library Art Museum also contains works by prominent American artists including George Caleb Bingham and Harriet Hosmer.
The library moved from 510 Locust St. in downtown St. 亚洲无码 to UMSL鈥檚 campus 30 years ago to be more accessible to students.
It was founded as a membership library in 1846.
The St. 亚洲无码 Mercantile Library, the oldest extant library west of the Mississippi, celebrates its 175 years collecting paper, books, artwork and other artifacts.