Records of the Library Flood

On July 28, 1997, a severe thunderstorm hit Fort Collins producing between 5" and 10" of rain, depending on location, in six hours. Colorado State University was heavily impacted by the resulting flood waters. Thirty buildings sustained damage, including Morgan Library. A low lying area on the west side of the library allowed water to build up against a temporary plywood construction wall. When the wooden wall collapsed water flowed into the basement of the library, rapidly rising to the 10' ceiling and submerging the book collection, a computer lab, staff offices, and other areas. The basement housed all of the bound periodical collection and part of the book collection, specifically social science, humanities, and science related publications, totaling approximately 430,000 volumes.

Removal of the materials could not take place until two days later - after the area had been pumped out and the vendor chosen to treat the damaged materials had set up a work space. It took fourteen days to pack up and remove all of the damaged volumes from the basement area. By that time mold had developed on most volumes as well as the library shelves, walls, and floors.

Books and periodicals were freeze-dried to remove water and eliminate mold growth. After books were frozen, they were thawed, gently cleaned, and vacuumed. Not all volumes were salvageable. Those with less than 30% damage were repaired by being rebound, having damaged pages replaced with copies, and covers replaced before being returned to the shelves.

The university opened on time for the fall semester on Monday August 25, 1997, and library services were available for students and faculty via the FastFlood ILL service, where requests from CSU were given the highest priority. In addition, a shuttle service was offered to participating academic libraries at the University of Wyoming, University of Denver, University of Northern Colorado, and the University of Colorado where CSU students, faculty, and staff were given borrowing privileges.

To rebuild the collection, the library set up a donation center for books and journals. Approximately 10-15% of the titles donated were found to be exact matches for damaged materials and were added to the collection, along with an additional 5% that were new titles. The remaining donated books and journals were offered to other libraries across the country. Books were also purchased for replacement, including those determined to be most heavily used. Within one year after the flood, over 3,700 individuals, corporations, libraries, and publishers donated gifts of print materials, services, and money to the library. It took until 2004 for recovery and replacement of the damaged materials to be complete.