You can also access magazines online via our website. Scroll down on the right hand side and look for rbDigital Magazines (formerly called Zinio). You'll need your library card number to access these magazines (the new fourteen digit #--if you don't have one, or can't remember, just ask us)--the collection covers a lot of territory--here's a sampling: Bloomberg Business Week, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Highlights for Children, MacWorld, National Geographic (and NG for Kids), Newsweek, "O" the Oprah Magazine, Popular Science, Prevention, Smithsonian, Vanity Fair, Woodworkers Journal, Yoga Journal and many more. Something for everyone and every mood!
Speaking of the Monitor, if you didn't see it on Sunday, the piece about HTL by Nick Stoico was a pretty good summary of where we are.
.After Hopkinton library fire, warehouse fills with damaged books
Monitor staff
Saturday, September 15, 2018
The Hopkinton and Contoocook communities are still reeling from the near loss of their public library, but library Director Donna Dunlop says they should be ready to announce a reopening date in a couple of weeks.
“Within two weeks we will have a better idea of what our needs our,” she said on a phone call Friday. “So many volunteers have stepped up but we have nothing for them to do yet.”
Dunlop and the library staff were worried they lost all of their inventory of books and electronic media to smoke and water damage, but after taking an inventory of the damage, Dunlop said they should get about 95 percent of the collection back.
The library is working with Servpro to assess the damage to the collection. In all, about 1,200 boxes of books are being stored in Servpro’s Bow warehouse, along with furniture and other equipment the library hopes to salvage.
“They are literally wiping down every book,” Dunlop said.
The books are also being put through a hydroxyl chamber, which is used to get rid of the smoky odor that filled most of library after lightning struck the cupola and started a fire during a storm on Aug. 3.
The fire devastated the space below the cupola, where the sprinkler system kicked in and drenched the space to prevent the fire from spreading to the rest of the building. The sprinklers did not activate in the rest of the building – they only will if there is excessive heat – saving thousands of volumes from water damage that would otherwise require them to be thrown away.
Dunlop said about 3,000 books were out in the community on loan when the fire occurred, and many of those are still being circulated as the library continues as a small operation inside the Slusser Center next door.
The next step, Dunlop said, is choosing a contractor to work on the renovation. Bids are expected within the next two weeks for the library trustees to review.
The lightning strike knocked out the library’s HVAC system, outdoor lights and fire alarm system. Smoke also reached and potentially damaged the building’s insulation in the ceiling. Dunlop said an engineering firm is conducting tests to see if the insulation needs to be replaced.
The timeline remains open-ended, as Dunlop says the library aims to reopen in three to six months. Once questions about the workload are answered, she says there will be a more definite reopening date to share.
“We have an incredible opportunity now to assess where we were and make improvements,” she said, adding that energy efficiency is “high on the list” of improvements.
Libraries in surrounding communities – including Concord, Bow, Weare and Warner – continue to honor library cards from Hopkinton. State Librarian Michael York paid a visit to the temporary library in Hopkinton on Monday.
“He just appeared in our little library at the Slusser Center. It’s great to have his support,” Dunlop said. “The entire library community has been so supportive.”
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