Norman Public Central Library remaining closed until March

Tanner DeLeon/ KFOR
·2 min read
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NORMAN, Okla. (KFOR) — The Norman Public Central Library will remain closed until at least March while they take care of a growing mold problem.

In a press conference held Tuesday, the city said the mold was caused by water leaks that have been happening since the library opened.

Jason Olsen, Director of Parks and Recreation in Norman, says they have been experiencing water intrusion issues since they opened back in 2019, but they hope to fix the issue for good this time around.

“In every instance, the City of Norman, the owner of the facility, has acted swiftly in determining the cause of issues, in resolve of occurring problems,” Olsen said. “Remedies have included the replacement of the lower roof in 2020, ceiling of windows and other various roof repairs.”

However, water intrusion issues have continued to persist, resulting in a mold infestation across the building, and about 1200 items having to be removed and thrown away.

“They are in a contained area that is about 0.6% of the collection at Norman Central,” said Lisa Wells, Executive Director for Pioneer Library System.

Norman Central Library shuts down for five months due to mold

The current expectations on repairs and the removal of the mold is about five months.

“We’re only going to be in there for 30 to maybe 90 days for our process,” said Gary Cavins, owner and CEO of Cavins Group. “The rest of the time is going to be the other contractors, the envelope consultants looking into what’s going on, making the outside repairs, making sure everything’s watertight and all that.”

The Norman Public Central Library currently has 64 employees, all of which will work at other libraries in Norman during the repairs. The city says it’s also considering a temporary location.

“We’re looking for, hopefully, a temporary location to be able to provide programing, our maker lab services and a small collection of popular materials,” Wells said.

The library cost nearly $39 million to build, but the city did not say how much it is going to cost to fix the issue and clear out the mold.

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