Helene destroyed parts of the Hot Springs Library: here's how you can help

Madison County Libraries
| Special to The News-Record & Sentinel

No one could have predicted that Spring Creek in Hot Springs would burst through the back door of the library on September 27.

The water from the flood pushed all the mobile furniture into the hallway, creating a dam that raised the water level to shoulder height, effectively destroying the entire children’s and young adult section of the library. The dam reduced the pressure of the flowing water, preserving the two front windows of the library, while the water pushed open the two entrance doors. Furniture and books floated away in the water that ravaged Hot Springs.

As the center of the downtown block, this local community center has only been in its current location since 2016, when the Friends of the Hot Springs Library purchased the building to ensure that the city of Hot Springs would always have a permanent location after years of work. moving from one rented location to another.

The Friends raised more than $350,000 over six years to purchase the building and then took out a loan for the remaining $197,000, with Madison County making the loan payments while the Friends continued to raise money to reduce the loan principal. The loan was paid off in June 2021 and a month later the building was donated to Madison County by the Friends of the Library.

The Madison County Public Library System was named the 2018 Best Small Library in America by Library Journal, thanks in large part to the Hot Springs community’s commitment to supporting the library, which exemplified the county’s overall support of its beloved library system.

The Hot Springs Library is one of two libraries on the Appalachian Trail. It serves thousands of residents, tourists and hikers each year, providing much-needed internet access and public computers to these visitors.

Faced with extensive damage to the branch, the library was fortunate to have flood insurance, which will help pay for most of the building damage and repairs. Contents cover, inherited from the Friends’ original policy, mainly covers furniture, but additional funds will be needed to cover the cost of the entire collection of damaged books.

Kim Bellofatto, director of the Madison County Public Library System, and the Friends of the Hot Springs Library group are working on grants and alternative financing options to cover this shortfall.

Donations have gone to the Friends website, which includes a special item for flood relief at the library. With so much damage in the region, they are trying to look to sources of funding outside the area to avoid competing for the funds that other affected groups need.

The library system has advised residents affected by the natural disaster that there will be no fees or replacement charges for materials lost or damaged due to the hurricane. The libraries request that they contact the system to notify them of the loss so that they have proof of it for insurance purposes.

Communication between Bellofatto and the Madison County Board of Commissioners has reassured her that the county considers the restoration of the library an important priority, along with the other county buildings in need of restoration.

She wants to assure residents that the library will return to its current location. The current lack of work on the site is not a lack of dedication to its restoration.

“The underwriting process is slow and approvals take time,” Bellofatto said. “But the Hot Springs Library 2.0 version will be just as beautiful as it was and even better than before.”

Visit the Friends of the Hot Springs Library for more information website: https://www.friendsofhotspringslibrary.org/.