CLEVELAND, Ohio — The library at the Western Reserve Historical Society library remains closed after a fire late last month left archival materials in the basement damaged by water and other parts of the four-story brick building affected by smoke and soot.
No one was injured in the fire, which ignited early on Sept. 28. The library will remain closed for 6 to 9 months, as the historical society assesses the cause of the fire and the cost of repairs and conservation of damaged materials, said Kelley Falcone-Hall, president and CEO of the University Circle institution since 2014.
On Sept. 29, the historical society reopened regular programs and exhibits at the institution’s complex at 10825 East Blvd. The institution is known for housing local treasures, including the Euclid Beach Park Grand Carousel, the neon Cleveland Indians Wahoo sign, and a large collection of vintage automobiles.
“I’m disappointed, and it’s an emotional time,” Falcone-Hall said Monday in an interview with cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, which, she said, was her first contact with news media about the event.
“It’s our library,’’ she said. “Though no one was injured, and we didn’t lose any collections, but there is a real emotional attachment to the place because that’s where our history lives.’’
Falcone-Hall said Cleveland firefighters responded within five minutes of an alarm triggered by a fire that started in a basement room, where volunteers had been processing archival materials. Such materials are sorted, classified, indexed and filed in archival boxes.
Water from firehoses or sprinklers showered down directly on documents spread out on a table in the basement, Falcone-Hall said.
The library of the Western Reserve Historical Society as it appeared Monday, October 16, 2023, two weeks after a fire in the basement led to water and smoke damage. The library will remain closed for 6-9 months.Steven Litt, cleveland.com
Conservators from the Chicago-based Conservation Center are working with the historical society on plans to preserve the damaged documents, now stored in a refrigerator truck to minimize physical harm.
Ann Sindelar, the library’s reference supervisor, said that roughly 100 boxes of records from three specific collections were involved, a number she said was a small fraction of the overall collection. The library declined to identify the specific nature of the documents because it had not yet contacted all the donors, Sindelar said.
As for the rest of the library, “even though the fire was contained to a small corner of the basement, we have to basically deal with cleanup and deodorizing on four floors to one degree or another,’’ Falcone-Hall said. Archival boxes throughout the library have been coated with grime. “If you run your hand on the top of a box of a collection of papers, it’s like dust, but a little sooty,” she said.
The historical society completed a $3 million renovation of the library two years ago, a project funded by the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation.
Falcone-Hall said the historical society has reached out to community organizations to let them know about the fire. Administrative staff have relocated to the institution’s Hanna Mansion, part of its complex on East Boulevard. In addition to the Conservation Center, the historical society is working with experts from Cleveland-based Belfor Property Restoration.
The reading room of the Western Reserve Historical Society library as it appeared after a renovation in 2020. The library closed Sept. 29 for 6-9 months after a fire caused water damage to documents and smoke damage throughout the building.Courtesy Western Reserve Historical Society
The fire occurred within weeks of the completion of a new emergency plan for the historical society. That project was related to the organization’s pursuit of accreditation from the American Association of Museums, a national organization that establishes professional standards. Falcone-Hall said the emergency plan spelled out steps taken immediately after the fire.
“We have been the trusted stewards of so much of the evidence of the history of Northeast Ohio,’’ Falcone-Hall said. “I have to take the long view. We’re going to be better down the line. We’ve weathered other storms. That’s how we are looking at this event.”
www.cleveland.com
https://www.cleveland.com/news/2023/10/smoke-and-water-damage-from-a-fire-leaves-western-reserve-historical-society-library-closed-for-6-9-months.html
