Update: Overheated Sump Pump Caused March 24 Closure of Library

Director Jon Anderson said on March 25 that an overheated sump pump "produced a lot of smoke" in the basement on Thursday just before 1 p.m., leading to the closure of the library.

Initial reports were of a mechanical fire in the boiler room; Anderson said on Friday that "it was not a fire."

Anderson explained that the pump — which pushes water out of a drain in the floor — continued to run after the drain went dry, "and it started to smoke."

Library staffers were sent home for the day, and no injuries were reported.

The children's room remained closed on Friday, with notices posted to inform patrons that staff would retrieve requested materials from the lower level.

Anderson said the closure would likely remain in effect through March 31, with the possible exception of scheduled story times on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"We decided to close early to get on top of the moving issues," Anderson explained.

The weekly Reader's Lair and Saturday drop-in craft programs will be held in the upstairs reading room, he added.

Beginning April 1, the library will be closed for the final stage of moving into the new library building, situated just behind the "old" structure that was built in 1961.

Anderson said that students from the Johnston High School Annex at Calef School will be moving books into the new Young Adult Room, which is , an active teen patron of the library who passed away in 2007 at the age of 13.

Following the move to the new building, the town's municipal court will relocate to the brick building that faces Atwood Avenue, saving the town some $35,000 in annual rental costs.

A grand opening ceremony for the new library is scheduled for Saturday, April 9.