Library closes out of ‘abundance of caution’ after HVAC fails

The Wareham Free Library has closed its main branch at 59 Marion Road out of an ‘abundance of caution’ after the failure of its air conditioner and dehumidifier system. 

Library director Patrick Marshall said the system failed sometime the week of Sunday, Aug. 5, and the library very quickly saw mold begin to form. 

“Out of an abundance of caution for the public and for safety,” the library made the call to close its main branch, said Marshall. 

Spinney Memorial Library, the Onset branch of the Wareham Free Library, will be opened during the shutdown. Limited library services will be available at Spinney, 259 Onset Avenue, starting Tuesday, Aug. 13. 

Marshall said the library doesn’t know how long the shutdown will last; it is “still testing to see if things are fine,” he said. 

The Friends of the Wareham Free Library will not be able to hold its August book sale due to the closure, and will not be able to take book donations while the main branch of the library is closed. 

In the long term, the Town of Wareham has penciled in a more extensive overhaul of the HVAC system at the library’s main branch. Voters at town meeting on Monday, April 22 approved a $2.3 million line item for the repair and replacement of that system. 

Town Administrator Derek Sullivan has said the HVAC system is approximately 25 years old, and the town has been “pouring money” into it trying to keep it working. 

Marshall said the system is “not an easy system to repair,” and that the town’s municipal maintenance department has been working on the engineering studies which would be necessary for the repair or replacement to be done.