Staff at the Ottawa Public Library say damage to the collections at the Nepean Centrepointe and Carlingwood branches, both of which were flooded on Canada day, was minor. Both branches suffered significant damage on July 1, when more than 100 millimetres of rain fell in a few hours. Flooring, furniture, shelving, some electronic equipment, and parts of the drywall were affected by the floodwaters, but the books appear to have been spared the worst. “Approximately 40,000 children’s collection items at Nepean Centrepointe and 25,000 at Carlingwood were located in the affected areas and required assessment. Following those assessments, damage to the collections was determined to be minimal to none,” a statement to CTV News Ottawa said. “At this time, we do not have confirmed figures on the number of individual items, if any, that required disposal.” On Thursday, the Ottawa Public Library confirmed that the Nepean Centrepointe branch would partially reopen on July 30 but that Carlingwood still requires extensive repairs. “Carlingwood will remain closed until further notice and we commit to providing more updates by the end of August,” library staff said. Procurement of replacement flooring and furniture is underway, the statement said. The open branches nearest to Carlingwood are Emerald Plaza (1547 Merivale Rd.), and Rosemount (18 Rosemount Ave.), as well as the Nepean Centrepointe branch (101 Centrepointe Ave.) when it reopens next week.
