A Message from the Executive Director of Rosenberg Library

As many of our patrons already know, Hurricane Ike was not kind to the Rosenberg Library. The entire first floor of the library was completely wiped out by the storm surge. At the height of the surge our building had 75 inches of water on the first floor and considerably more than that in the Wortham Auditorium.  The flood waters completely wrecked all of the departments & library functions on the first floor, including the children’s department, the Wortham Auditorium, the Randall meeting room, circulation department, technical services office, operations department, and the Friends sorting room and book shelf.  The library building also sustained some damage to the roof and one of the hurricane panels.  Probably the most devastating blow we received from Hurricane Ike was the destruction of building systems located on the first floor, including the loss of major electrical panels, the telephone system, Internet routing equipment, firemen’s service, components of the HVAC system, storm protection panels and parts of the fire & smoke detection system.  The loss of these critical building systems has severely complicated recovery efforts and plans to reopen the library any time soon.

Three library staff members (John Augelli, Executive Director; Michele Quinn, IT System Analyst; and Carol Wood, Archivist) rode out the storm in the Rosenberg Library.   Recovery efforts to save the Rosenberg Library started on Saturday, September 13.  Within two days of the storm, a contract was signed with ServiceMaster Clean to pump the flood waters and mud out of the building and to begin the process of drying out and cleansing the building.  Our staff also moved as rapidly as possible to retain a company to control humidity and temperature in the upper floors of the building to prevent mold from damaging materials, historical documents and artifacts in the upper floors of the building.  Needless to say, addressing the temperature and humidity issues required around-the-clock work and some very innovative measures implemented by American Mechanical Systems (AMS) utilizing massive generators and the undamaged portions of the electrical and HVAC building systems located on the upper floors of the library building.   In the weeks after the storm, several conservation experts have examined the library building and historical collections and have reported no visible evidence of mold damage to the historical documents and artifacts inspected. The conservation officials were also complimentary of the preventative measures implemented by staff before the storm and the quick actions taken under very difficult circumstances to remove the water and reduce the temperature and humidity in the building.

On a personal note, I would like to publicly recognize the enormous contributions made by Carol Wood and Michele Quinn before, during and after Hurricane Ike to protect the Rosenberg Library and its treasures.  Both of these staff members demonstrated tremendous competence, dedication and courage in dealing with this devastating natural disaster.

The recovery and reconstruction of the Rosenberg Library is going to cost millions of dollars.  Although the library had insurance, your help will be needed with the restoration and upgrade of the building.  Contributions to assist with the recovery of the Rosenberg Library may be mailed to the following address: Rosenberg Library, 2310 Sealy Street, Galveston, TX 77550-2220, or by clicking on the "Donate" buttons on the Library Home Page.

John Augelli
Executive Director