Library will soon close to replace moldy carpeting

The Wareham Free Library will soon close to replace carpeting that grew mold after the Library flooded earlier this month, Select Board Chair Judith Whiteside announced at a Wareham Historical Society event on Monday, March 20. 

While Whiteside said that the Library could be closed for up to six to eight weeks, Library Director Patrick Marshall said that this was merely a “worst-case scenario.”

Marshall could not say when the Library would close or how long it would be closed, but he reassured the public that the used book sale, Ted Reinstein book talk and Peeps diorama contest scheduled for this week will go on as planned. Future events set to take place at the Library will be relocated or postponed, depending on the event. 

Marshall said that during the closure, the Library will continue to offer services, operating out of the Spinney Memorial Library at 259 Onset Ave. 

“There will be a free library for the town of Wareham to use,” he said. “There will be computers at Spinney available for the public to use. I don’t want people to think that we’re not doing anything while the Library is closed.” 

The Library was flooded when a pipe burst at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 5. 

The pipe, which burst due to a water main break on Morris Avenue, flooded the Library meeting room and hallway around the circulation area with two inches of water.

During the Select Board meeting on Tuesday, March 21, Town Administrator Derek Sullivan said that all of the books must be removed from the Library and all of the carpeting must be replaced. 

“This could take four to six weeks,” he said.

During the closure, all of the Library’s carpeting will be replaced. 

Sullivan said that the closure would be the perfect time to also repair the Library’s aging roof and HVAC system.

“Look on the bright side,” Whiteside said. “We get a great new floor. The rug... reeks [of mold].”