The Eufaula Memorial Library has been forced to close temporarily because of black mold found in the building.
Branch Manager Amanda Grantham said the mold is in two back rooms, the lobby and part of the children’s area.
FloodSERV out of McAlester will do the remediation.
One area where the mold was found was inside the mechanical room, where the heating and air conditioning and other electrical equipment is controlled.
The building, which closed last week, is owned by the City of Eufaula.
City Manager Jeb Jones said remediation should begin this week, when a crew begins removing the lower half of the sheetrock on one wall.
The area will be treated, air ducts and carpet cleaned and an air scrubber inside the library will run for about a week, Jones said.
Cost of remediation will be about $15,000.
While the library is closed, Jones said the city will do some maintenance on the facility, including replacing some windows and rotting fascia.
The mold is the result of water running down the exterior of the building and getting into the mechanical room by way of a hole around an electric conduit.
Meanwhile, the city is allowing the library to use the community center for office space and some of its programs.
Grantham said patrons will be able to order items and pick them up.
“They will be able to pick up their Summer Reading prizes as well. Programs for the next two weeks will be at the Community Center as well. We will have chromebooks, which patrons can use at the community center with their library card but we will not have printing, copying, faxing or notaries,” she said. She said you are able to use your library card at any of the 14 other libraries in the Eastern Oklahoma Library system and the online catalog any time.
“You can also return any borrowed items you have to any of those libraries,” she said. “If you are participating in the Summer Reading Program you can redeem your minutes for rewards at any library as well – including the Jim Lucas Checotah Public Library.”
While a number of programs are being offered at the Community Center, on Friday, June 28, the SAIL program will be held at Legacy on Main Street, 224 N. Main.
