Why do we need Earthquake Retrofitting?

The Following is from an article I read on msn.com it was about the hazards of unreinforced masonry in earthquake zones.

In many vulnerable cities, people are effectively stacked on top of one another in buildings designed as if earthquakes don't happen. It is not the tremor that kills people in an earthquake but the buildings, routinely constructed on the cheap, using faulty designs and, in some cities, overseen by corrupt inspectors. The difference between life and death is often a matter of how much sand went into the cement or how much steel into a supporting column. Earthquakes might be viewed as acts of God, but their lethality is often a function of masonry.
"In recent earthquakes, buildings have acted as weapons of mass destruction," Bilham writes in the journal Nature.

Difficult to predict
For years, earthquake scientists have shouted their warnings about the strong likelihood that a major quake would level an impoverished city and kill hundreds of thousands of people. They have said, for example, that Kathmandu, where masonry structures expand so haphazardly that some eventually cantilever over narrow city streets, is every bit as vulnerable as the surrounding Himalayas are majestic. They have said that a million people could die in a major quake in Tehran.

What's impossible, however, is knowing precisely which of these cities will be the next to crumble. Or when. For all practical purposes, scientists can't predict earthquakes.

Now, I'm not saying that the Carnegie library building was built substandard, it was simply built before we knew steps that needed to be taken to keep a building from collapsing totally and thus killing every unfortunate soul inside. I had a patron ask why we were earthquake proofing again. I far as I know this is the first time we have ever had any work done on the building to stabilize it. She swears she remembers that we did work on the Carnegie building a few years ago for the same thing. I don't know what she is referring to but it wasn't an earthquake retrofitting like we are currently undergoing. We all know that our region is overdue for the next "Big One" so, I for one am happy that we can take these preventative measures to save lives and historic buildings.
Michele, Children's Librarian

Everything's a Jumble

Maybe you've noticed that things are changing around the library. Maybe you've gone looking for reference help upstairs only to find that the librarian's desk is gone. In fact, you may be surprised to find that those great study tables are disappearing too!

Or maybe you've come in to use our wireless and noticed that the tables by the east windows and those handy electrical outlets has been taken by a staff desk.


You may have even tried to go down to the Literacy office to talk to Diane about tutoring and seen piles of boxes. So many boxes that you could barely make it into the room.


"Agggh! What's happening to my library?" you may ask as you rake your fingers into your hair and pull it in frustration.

Don't worry. Let go of your hair before it's all pulled out, take a deep breath and relax, then repeat after me - "It's only temporary."

That's right. For about six months we're all going to be a little more cramped than usual and we'll all feel like some things and some people aren't in the right places. You may even feel like the the library books you want are inconvenient to get. For a little while the library might seem all jumbled.

"What's going on?" you might ask.

The Carnegie Building, which was built in 1915 will be getting a much needed seismic upgrade with financing through a federal grant.


When everything's finished sometime next summer the Carnegie should be a safer place for you and your children. We've all been told that an earthquake is a question of "when" not "if" and with a building structure from 1915 you can imagine how much will have changed in building standards over the years.

It'll be a big change for everyone. The librarian in charge of non-fiction has been going through a bit of an environmental shock.

She's having to get use to sitting in the middle of wizards, dragons, killers, amateur sleuths, some pretty steamy lovers, and other fictional characters instead of the historians, scientists, sociologists, doctors, cooks, gardeners, and the other experts she's used to hanging around. If you walk by an she looks a little frazzled, you'll know the characters have been getting to her again. Maybe the dragons are breathing a little too much fire - or is it the lovers? Whatever the case, an encouraging smile might help her make it through.

She won't have the usual books at her fingertips. Most of them will be in storage. Luckily we will have some access to them. They'll be stored in the partially finished Academy building.

You won't be able to browse the stacks like before, but you can browse on our online catalog. You can request books in advance and library staff will have scheduled times to go and retrieve requested books.

So with a little extra planning you can still get the books you need. Remember, you can browse the library's catalog from home if you have the Internet. And if you have a password for your library card you can request them from home and the comfort of your pajamas and bedroom slippers. You'll be able to browse on your personal computer while sipping your favorite hot cocoa, coffee, or tea. See, it's not all bad.

If you don't have a password for you library account, now's a great time to get one. Just ask for one next time you're at the circulation desk.

For those of you who are missing the tables by the windows and the power outlets, help is on the way. Our reading corner has been rearranged and we now have three tables there. A few outlets already on the walls and we plan on getting some power strips put up to provide more.

When using the space please try to keep your cords as out of the way as possible and if you do have cord that may be in someone's path, please alert them to your cord. Some programs will also be taking place in this corner at night. The Adult Book Group, P/K (Parent/Kid) Book Group, Knitting Group, and the Writing Group will all meet in this area until the programming rooms area available again. And no, we will not have public meeting spaces for patrons to schedule during this time - sorry.

As for the Literacy Department, they've got a temporary home. It's small and most of their things will be in storage. If you're coming in the library, take a right to go into the children's area and straight ahead of you you'll see a desk that is facing a window. That desk will be the Literacy Department for the county until construction is complete.

We hope to lessen the impact and inconvenience on library patrons as much as we can during construction, but we may not be able to do everything we normally would be able to. Please bear with us and we can all look forward to spreading out a little in a safer library building next summer.

Elizabeth

Pictures of Yesterday at the Library

A few months ago Susan, our reference librarian, was going through some library archives and I went up to take a look. Not a lot's been kept over the years, but there were a few interesting things among the papers that are left.

I found several pictures that I thought were interesting and I pulled a few to share:


Here's what the upstairs use to look like before the addition made in the late 1970s.


And we also found some photos from the construction of the 'new' section.

And here's a 1979 picture of the interior after the addition was opened. Wow, look at all that space. If only. And here we are, almost 30 years later, desperately look for ways to fit it all.


Then we found this letter too. Even knowing how things were back then, reading this letter today can still be a shocker.



If you haven't read Susan's articles on the history of the library yet, you should really take a look. She's got pictures for some of them and some interesting information.

Use the links below to take a look at the histories she's posted so far:

History of the Library, Part 1
History of the Library, Part 2
History of the Library, Part 3

History of our library Pt. 2

Early in 1912, the city fathers advanced a new plan for the library. Brigham had a large enough population to be eligible for a Carnegie Library. The idea was put to the people the next election and they agreed to be taxed extra to raise the $2,000 for the first year's maintenance. Negiotations were started with the Carnegie Commission asking for $20,000. Mr. Carnegie felt $10,000 should satisfy Brigham City. After more negiotations, $12,500 was offered, with the provision the city contribute the site and raise taxation for one-tenth of the total amount for general maintenance.

Before building could begin, the old library had to be moved. All the materials were moved to the Booth building and Afton Peters writes "trying to run a library in this building proved very unsuccessful, and Miss Lillie Stranquist had a very unpleasant time".

The new building was completed in December of 1915 at a cost of $13,032 complete with furniture and fixtures. The Box Elder News wrote of the new building "....the library is a thing of beauty both from within and without. The interior finishing is beautiful and harmonious. The walls and ceilings are done in panels in exquisitely dainty design which is enhanced by the subdued light which comes through the art windows and from the indirect electric light. The entrance hall is finished in brown marble". With a large upstairs library centered by a librarian's alcove that afforded a view of the entire room, a downstairs lecture room, and workrooms in the south end of the basement, the new library offered plenty of room for books. The lecture room downstairs was never used as such. The Daughters of the Utah Pioneers used it for a relic room and the children's library was installed there later.

As you visit our library today, you'll see the old entrance upstairs just as it was in 1915 though our librarian's desk now faces a different direction. You'll see the same stained glass windows and old shelves lining the walls. The downstairs auditorium is where the children's department once was. Thanks to smaller heating and cooling units placed on the roof, the furnace room is now the conference room.

I must have been here a long time, I was actually here when that huge furnace was housed downstairs. It was a pretty scary room. Next installment - THE ADDITION.

Susan