The Thompson Public Library has been operating without heat in its main area since the building’s boiler system stopped working Feb. 11.
While library administrator Cheryl Davies is still waiting to receive parts that will fix this problem, she said the library is remaining open to the public, albeit with modified hours.
“It’s sort of been an adjustment in terms of where we’re working from, and even the amount of interaction that we can have with people,” she said, mentioning that the checkout area has been moved to the enclosed computer room. “That’s been a little bit of a challenge for us. Story Time has had to go to the basement, which is always a concern if we have somebody that can’t go to the basement.”
Everything south of the checkout desk, like their offices and basement area, are heated by an electric furnace, since the two sections of the building were built years apart.
Because of this heating source, combined with working heaters in the crawl space that keep the pipes from freezing, Davies said the library is being kept at a manageable temperature for visitors.
“So throughout the day, if the sun shines, we might get up to 16 degrees,” she said. “When it plummets down to minus 36 at night it doesn’t help, but I think this week we likely will see temperatures in here going to 16 [degrees] during the day.”
In her 14 years of working at the library, Davies said she’s never had to contend with the building losing its heat for more than a day.
Even though Davies can’t predict when the boiler system will be fixed, right now she’s aiming to restore the library’s regular operating hours next week and move ahead with the six events they have planned for the month of March.
Until then, Davies encourages local bookworms to consult with the Thompson Public Library’s various social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and their website, since they will be posting constant updates until this issue is resolved.
“We’d still love it if people come in, because we’re still here for them,” she said.
