Library News

March 27 Update: The elevator is down until our required State inspections.

February 28 Original Post: Starting March 1, the elevator will not be available for an estimated 3 weeks. The second floor will only be accessible by stairs. If you cannot use the stairs, you are welcome to use the children’s computers during this time. Staff can access materials for you. A copier is now available downstairs in the lobby.

For those of you who rely on the elevator, we know it’s not the same as being able to spend time upstairs—and we apologize for the inconvenience. We hope to see you upstairs again as soon as possible.

UPDATE THURSDAY, FEB. 2: The elevator will still be unavailable today, but will be available tomorrow (Friday).

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ORIGINAL POST: The elevator will be down on Tuesday, January 31 and Wednesday, February 1 due to construction. The second floor will only be accessible by stairs until Thursday.

Adults and teens who cannot use the stairs are welcome to use the children's computers during this time. Staff can access materials for you. A copier is now available downstairs in the lobby.

For those of you who rely on the elevator, we know it’s not the same as being able to spend time upstairs—and we apologize for the inconvenience. It will be up and running again soon.

The entire Youth Services department is back in action! Though it will take us some time to rebuild the damaged J FIC collection, we’re ready to help your kids find their next great read. A sprinkler head burst at the Library over Christmas weekend, damaging parts of the building and the collection.

Adult Non-Fiction, the Teen Scene, computers, and copiers are once again available in Adult & Teen Services after water damage affected the area. A sprinkler head burst at the Library over Christmas weekend.

The Library will be open for limited services today. This weekend, a sprinkler head burst upstairs, and much of the building was affected.

We're mostly dry now thanks in large part to the fast action of New Lenox Fire Protection District, Midwest Fire Suppression, and ServiceMaster by Bouck — extended kudos from our Facilities Manager are below:

Special recognition goes out to three outside groups in particular:

NLFPD Lt. Chmura and all of the firefighters who sacrifice their holiday season by being on-duty over Christmas. Their speed in arrival and diligence in making sure that all water was turned off as quickly as possible inside of the Library helped to mitigate the flood damage. FYI, water flows from our fire sprinkler heads at a rate of 30 gallons per minute, or one gallon EVERY TWO SECONDS. Quite literally, every second counts in a situation such as this.

Ray Robinson from Midwest Fire Suppression who not only came out immediately to repair the broken sprinkler head and stay for several hours to inspect the rest of the system as it thawed out; but he also helped cover book stacks with plastic as the water made its way through the floor and rapidly began spreading across a large part of the ceiling in YS.

Tom and his crew from ServiceMaster By Bouck who came in with a small army of people and a large battery of equipment to remove water damaged building materials, drain flooded ductwork insulation, suck up all of the water, and begin the tedious drying-out process with industrial-sized fans and dehumidifiers. Out of the four emergency water cleanup companies contacted that morning, Tom's was the only one who could answer the phone call AND quickly begin the cleanup to stop the damage that was happening as the flood water continued to leak down from the second floor.

We can't express our gratitude enough.

Update, 10:15 AM: Upstairs non-fiction and Teen Scene areas are blocked off. Upstairs computers are not available, and copiers are not currently functioning. Downstairs computers are available for all ages while upstairs computers are unavailable. The rest of Youth Services will be blocked off.

We ask for your patience today. We will keep you updated.

Update on Wednesday, December 28: Adult & Teen Services upstairs will fully reopen today.