CLEARWATER, Fla. — Crews in Clearwater are working around the clock to restore the city’s main library that’s been closed since early September.

What You Need To Know

  • Clearwater's main library suffered water damage after a fire sprinkler failed on Sept. 6

  • The city estimates the water caused $5 million worth of damage

  • Roughly 30,000 books were taken off the shelves and put in vacuum sealed drying chambers, and officials say about 90% of them will be OK

  • The library is expected to reopen in November, according to the city

The library, which is located next to Coachman Park, had a fire sprinkler pipe fail on its third floor, according to the city, which caused thousands of gallons of water to flood parts of the building.

Following the incident, books were cleaned and covered in plastic wraps to protect them until restoration is complete.

It’s a job that means a lot to Stephanie George.

“I’m a book lover,” said George, the large loss project manager at Servpro of Largo. “So seeing books that are being damaged is not good in my own heart.”

On Sept. 6, water was gushing from electrical outlets and covering floors of the library.

“That pipe broke and just sprayed, so it just came out for minutes and every minute just keeps adding up on gallons and gallons of water,” George said.

George estimates 10,000-30,000 gallons of water came bursting out a fire sprinkler head, which hit a selection of books in the process.

“The way the water came down — it just shot down," she said. "So, it didn’t go this way. These books have all been inspected and assessed. These columns here were all soaked.”

The city estimates around 30,000 books were taken off the shelves to a site where they could be put in vacuum sealed drying chambers to be preserved and dried out.

According to city spokesperson Joelle Castelli, the good news is that about 90% of the affected books will be saved and put back on these shelves when the library reopens.

“If you’ve ever had, like, a small leak in your house, you know how devastating that can be,” Castelli said. “And this was on a very large commercial scale.”

Castelli said the building suffered about $5 million in damage, but the city has submitted the cost to its insurance provider.

In the meantime, drywall, HVAC and electrical systems, just to name a few, are still in the process of being restored.

For the time being, the library's staff is working at other library branches while Servpro and the other companies subcontracted to this project work so fellow book lovers, like George, can get back to reading.

“A book is just a whole different world," she said. "To be able to access and get into."

City officials say they expect the library to reopen to the public around Thanksgiving.