Temporary site for Burton Barr library to open in Phoenix this week
Jan 5, 2018, 5:06 AM
PHOENIX — Nearly six months after a pipe break flooded a downtown Phoenix library, forcing it to close for a year, city officials will open a temporary site right down the street.
On Friday, the city will launch its satellite location for the Burton Barr Central Library in the former Park Central Mall near Central Avenue and Catalina Drive in Phoenix.
In a video, Jeriann Thacker with the Phoenix Public Library said the temporary location will provide basic library services to Phoenix residents who have been left without access to a local library due to the flooding.
“This was basically a blank space when we moved in, so we’re installing a little bit of everything that you’d see at Burton Barr,” Thacker said.
“We’re going to have space for seating, a lot of books, DVDs — about 50,000 items will be in this collection, which is comparable to the size of one of our larger branches.”
In addition to a selection of books and movies, Thacker said the library will also provide customers with computer access and culture passes for free access to some of the Valley’s museums.
“Basically everything that you’d see at Burton Barr, we’ll have some sort of material or service available here as well.”
The temporary facility is about two miles from the original location and is accessible by light rail. Drivers can also find free parking and nearby coffee shops and restaurants at the satellite library.
The Phoenix City Council first approved the plan to open the temporary library to compensate for the closure of Burton Barr back in November. The city signed a lease to allow the library to operate out of Park Central until Dec. 14, but can cancel the lease after nine months with a 60-day notice.
The cost of occupying the space for nine months is expected to cost about $675,000, plus any applicable taxes. If the city needs to rent out the space for the remaining three months, it would cost about $130,000.
The city council said at the time that insurance funds from the damage at the Burton Barr Central Library will be used to pay for the temporary site.
The Burton Barr Central Library was flooded in July, after a pipe burst during a large monsoon storm. The destruction forced it to close for nearly a year for repairs, which are expected to cost about $10 million.
An investigation found that the flooding occurred after a corroded fire-sprinkler pipe burst during a monsoon storm, pumping between 50 and 60 gallons of water per minute onto the fifth floor of the northwest corner building.
Three employees were terminated, two were demoted and one was given a 40-hour suspension in response to the investigation.
