CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Kanawha Public Library board updated the situation of two of its branches affected by the June 23 flood at its Monday afternoon meeting.
The Elkview branch was not damaged, but remains inaccessible due to the washout of the bridge at the Crossings Mall, which could be rebuilt in the next two months.
“We are providing service out of a temporary location on Pennsylvania Avenue,” said director Alan Engelbert. “That was the old Elk Valley Library before we moved out. So we were able to get up and running very quickly.”
The Clendenin branch, Engelbert said, was completely destroyed.
“What we’ve done so far is to clean that facility out completely, we hired a contractor and they moved all of the contents of the building and stripped it down to the bare walls,” he said. “We have yet to begin discussions on what exactly the fate will be of that facility.”
Engelbert expressed the hope that FEMA aid would be a possibility. In the meantime, Clendenin residents who want books still have a way to get them.
“We’re providing a mobile library stop, a book mobile stop, on Friday’s,” Engelbert explained. “We’ll be looking possibly to provide service in other ways as time goes on.”
The book mobile’s hours are currently from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. each Friday, but Engelbert said it’s possible the time could be extended into the evening, as well as adding a stop at Bridge Elementary to serve both their students and Clendenin Elementary students.