At a community partners meeting last week at the Oak Savanna Learning Center, Great River Regional Library (GRRL) Executive Director Karen Pundsack gave an update on the status of the main library branch in St. Cloud.

 

An Aug. 17 arson fire caused smoke damage throughout most of the building, and as of last week, the library still had limited operations.

 

A patron set a book on fire, which spread to a chair near one of the windows.

 

“The fire was out within five minutes, but the smoke spread,” said Pundsack. “The fire was so hot it cracked the window and the granite next to it. But everyone got out safe.”

 

The sprinkler system didn’t trigger, or else all the books would have been destroyed by the water. But every item in the library was affected by the smoke.

 

“Every book had to be taken off the shelves, cleaned chemically wiped,” said Pundsack. “We have about 250,000 items.”

 

At first, since there was not much actual physical fire damage, Pundsack said she thought the library would open soon after the fire. But air samples showed there was a lot of work to be done to clean the air and surfaces.

 

“The challenge was, we had to make sure it was save to every member of the public, whether they had a compromised immune system or upper respiratory issues,” she said. “An industrial hygienist had to come in and test air samples.”

 

To help patrons find an available library, GRRL extended the hours temporarily at the Clearwater, Waite Park and Albany locations.

 

Daily deliveries continue from the main branch, but the building is still closed, except for holds pick-up and fine payments. Pundsack says there is still no specific date when it will open for full service.

 

“It continues to change every day,” she said.

 

Pundsack also gave an update on statistics for the three library branches in Sherburne County - Big Lake, Becker and Elk River. She said those three branches had 142,000 visits last year.

 

There were 427,927 items checked out. Patrons used the computers 17,241 times and wireless connections 9,504 times.

 

“Of the 91,000 people in Sherburne County, about 22% are card holders,” she said. “But it’s not unusual for a mom to have one card for her kids because she wants to manage one account.”

 

Pundsack said one of the myths they are trying to dispel is that physical books are no longer popular.

 

“We did a survey last year and found that 80% of residents walking through the door are coming there because we have physical books. That’s our core business,” she said. “Only about 6% of overall circulation is coming from e-books.”

 

She said a majority of  cardholders are using the physical location and website to order and pick up items because GRRL is very convenient.

 

“We have 15-minute drive time service for most of Sherburne County, even though we only have three physical buildings in the county,” she said. “Residents have the ability to use any of the libraries within the region. Monticello and St. Michael are heavily used, and St. Cloud is just on the other side of the border. Eight percent who have a library card in Sherburne County use St. Cloud as their primary library.”

 

She said taxpayers really get their money’s worth by supporting libraries.

 

“For every dollar of taxes spent in a community on a library in Minnesota, $4.52 is generated,” she said. “So just know your tax dollars are a great investment.”