The Milford-Miami Township Branch of the Clermont County Public Library (CCPL) will be closed during the month of May to repair the damage caused by the breaking of a water pipe last month.

The carpet and the flooring at the Milford-Miami Township Branch, located at 1099 Ohio State Route 131, will need to be replaced to eliminate the growth and spread of any mildew or mold that may appear as a result of the water damage. In addition, some walls will have to be repainted or repaired, said library supervisor Julie Sigrist.

The more than five hundred gallons of water which flooded the library in February damaged or completely destroyed many books, public computers, the floors, and the ceilings.

Sigrist said that it will cost close to $116,000 to renovate the library branch; insurance will cover around $53,000 of the cost, Sigrist said.

The leak, which was discovered on February 25, completely destroyed around 1,500 books, but fortunately, only a few of the public-access computer monitors were affected by the leak. In all, the repair work will require the removal of more than 124,500 books and 25,000 other miscellaneous items such as DVD’s, audio CD’s, videos, magazines, etc.

The branch will close April 30 and re-open May 31.

“I know this seems like a long time for the branch to be closed,” laments CCPL Director Leslie Massey. “But the repair process requires the library to remove more than 150,000 items in the library’s collection, shelving, furniture, computers, and workroom items in order to replace and repair carpeting and flooring, and then it must all be moved back in and then put back into order before the branch can re-open.”

During the month of May, the branch’s drop boxes will remain open and emptied daily. Customers and patrons of the Milford-Miami Township Branch are being encouraged to visit nearby branches in Union Township, Goshen, and Owensville.