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Major repairs to the leaky fourth floor roof of the CSU library are already planned and funded, but will have to wait for another dry season because parts of that floor will be exposed to the open air when renovations are made.

Instead of just tearing off a layer and repairing a portion of the roof, a full removal must be done because of punctures in the rubber membrane of the structure. Water leaks through a layer of pebbles and tar before it gets to the faulty layer.

The university has already received capitol funds for the $1 million project, which could begin as early as next August. As a result of the extensive repairs that need to be made, a major portion of the roof will be removed and rebuilt, leaving sections of the floor exposed to the elements.

The roof has been leaking for at least seven years, when Director of the Library Glenda Thornton arrived at CSU.

“These types of problems are not unique to CSU.” she said. “Every library I’ve ever been at has had leaks, and libraries all over the country have this problem.”

Not long after Thornton arrived at CSU in 1997, she sent a memo to the former head of the Physical Plant, Bob Kriminger, advising him of the need for repairs. He was already aware of the problem to some extent and had started the process of receiving capital money for the project.

It’s not clear as of Monday, Sept. 27, as to why the project has been shelved for another year, especially since the funding is already here at CSU.

“All we do is patch the roof,” said Don Brown, Assistant Vice President for Facilities Operations.

He also said the roof is 20-years-old and is due to be replaced.

The University Architect Office did not respond to phone calls before deadline.

While leaks have been going on for some time, the amount of water leaking has increased recently.

Earlier this semester, as many as 52 steel garbage cans held at least an inch of water on the fourth floor.

Plastic sheeting has covered many stacks of books.

In one section by the stairwell, yellow tape molded one of these plastic sheets into a funnel, which the water into a 39-gallon former recycling can. There was about a foot of water inside.

Late last week one section was cordoned off with tape and signage that read “Closed for Cleaning.” A 2-foot side floor fan was being used to dry the carpeting in the area.

With such a problem occurring now, the same dry season in which the proposed repairs are supposed to be completed, one has to wonder what might occur during a rainy season.

“Spring is a real worry, because of melting ice and snow,” Thornton said.

When asked whether the structure is safe and sound, Thornton said she has never been told there was a structure problem.

Thornton also said there might be an asbestos issue inside the roof.

“It’s just not a simple matter,” she said.

Thornton said she was hopeful that the work would have been done this past summer, since the funding was in place last fall.

She said planning should have started last summer, but she noted, the University Office of the Architect must be overworked because of all the extra building projects started at CSU in the last year.

“It’s hazardous to our collection … [the leaks] have been a concern to me since I arrived,” she said.

She said the collection has lost less than 100 books, and many of them may be available in digital format.

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