20/8/2004 - Flood library back in business

Barrow Library was back in business almost as usual the Monday morning after being hit by a freak flood on Friday August 13, thanks to hard work by Cumbria County Council staff and the emergency services.

County councillor Tim Heslop, portfolio holder for library and archive services, said:

"Prompt and efficient action by the library and archive staff, coupled with the preparations made under an emergency plan, means that the effect of the flood was much reduced.

"Many visitors to the library on Monday morning would have been unaware that anything had happened."

A combination of extremely heavy rain, the failure of a local pumping station and a low-lying site caused the basement of the library in Ramsden Square to be flooded to a depth of more than 20 inches. The central heating boiler was put out of action and the electricity supply had to be shut off. Local media were told first thing on Friday that the library was closed until further notice. Three local branch libraries in the Barrow area which are normally closed on a Saturday opened their doors the next day to provide a standby service.

Library and archive staff, led by area library manager Bernadette Main and senior archive service conservation officer Brenda Dreghorn, immediately put their prepared emergency plan into action. Cumbria Fire Service pumped out a large amount of water, which fortunately had not been contaminated with sewage. However, lots of mud and silt remained to be cleared up. 

Jim Grisenthwaite, Cumbria County Council's head of culture, said:

"All the staff rallied around to ensure that the disruption to the public service was kept to the minimum. Some of them were on site mopping up and moving books and equipment until 1 o'clock on Friday morning. 

"They all performed like Trojans on the Friday and the Saturday, too. I think that says a great deal about their dedication and commitment, qualities that any employer would be proud of in their workforce."

The basement was used to house Cumbria library service's reserve fiction book stock on new mobile shelving. A preliminary assessment showed that a large number of books had been destroyed, along with some local studies material. Cumbria archive service conservation staff gave specialised advice and help in salvaging stock. Librarians ferried many volumes to the former museum room on the first floor, which was turned into a vast drying area.

Also, the Cumbria archive service has subscribed for many years to the emergency rescue programme run by the restoration and drying service at the Atomic Energy Authority headquarters at Harwell, Oxfordshire. The remaining local studies material has been taken to Harwell for emergency freeze drying and conservation treatment.