Twenty-six days after Canada Day, the Ottawa Public Library’s Carlingwood branch shows no signs of reopening. As of Sunday, caution tape still surrounded the Woodroffe Avenue building after more than 118 millimetres of rain was sent into the basement of the library, one of thousands of other residential and commercial buildings across the city that were severely damaged by the storm. “They had water coming in and I think you can see right here that it slopes downwards,” said Bay Ward Coun. Theresa Kavanagh. “This is in the children’s area and the carpets were soaked. The water was enough that it wrecked the shelving.” Kavanagh said while there’s no official reopening date, repairs will likely go near or into the fall. “It might be mid-September, so not great news, but that’s still relatively at the beginning of the school year when everybody needs it,” said Kavanagh. “They have got to get those carpets out.” Staff at the Ottawa Public Library say the areas affected by the flooding contained around 25,000 items in its children’s section, but no books in its collection were damaged. The city says the branch sustained damage to flooring, furnishings, fixtures, equipment, and other building materials and systems. During peak summer and the school break, some in the community are feeling the impact of temporarily losing a beloved space. “Lots of people use it for different reasons,” said Katherine Cole, who has been going to the location with her family for years. “Computers are always busy with people looking for jobs and lots of different programing.” During the closure, Cole and her family have been going to other branches, including Rosemount. “I know it’s difficult for our library to be closed, but my thoughts are more with the people who’ve had to deal with their houses being flooded and a difficult situation,” Cole said. The Nepean Centrepointe branch was also flooded on Canada Day and it will re-open the exterior drop box for returns on Monday, while the first and second floors will open on July 30. The lower level will remain closed until November for restoration work.
