SEWICKLEY, Pa. — The Sewickley Public Library, the oldest public library in Allegheny County, was flooded Thursday night into Friday, forcing the library to close temporarily.
Richelle Klug, the Communications Director for the library, says a small leak, only about an inch big in the HVAC unit, caused water to pour down into the second-floor community room overnight Thursday. That water ran down the walls and flooded part of the downstairs, too. Staff didn’t make the discovery until they opened the doors for the day on Friday.
“It just poured through,” Klug tells Channel 11. “It essentially rained inside the library. Everything, if you think about it, kind of absorbed it like a sponge.”
You could hear the hum of fans and see all hands on deck on Tuesday, as the library closed for clean-up.
In order to replace carpeting, flooring and drywall, 13,000 books have to be moved to temporary storage. Crews spent the day boxing up and meticulously labeling the collection. She said, fortunately, only about 100 books, maybe fewer, were destroyed and none of those were from old historical collections that can’t be replaced.
Klug says the timing is also a big blow because they just wrapped up three years of renovations!
“Major projects from doing our HVAC system, our brand-new roof, story time room and a new terrace outside of the library,” Klug added.
The library has a garden party planned for Thursday to reveal the terrace. That’s still scheduled outside of the library from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Klug says people are reaching out, asking how they can help. She says donations during Love Your Library month go even further with up to a $500 match from the Jack Buncher Foundation.
“All donations kind of count a little more this month,” Klug explained. “If you have the ability, that’s an amazing way. Also, just come enjoy the library, and use our services.”
The Sewickley Public Library says they will be posting updates on what they’ll reopen on their website, here.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
