FELICITY KOHN Students review library materials in mold-infested room in Olin Library despite posted warnings. Those with allergies are particularly warned to avoid these areas.

Olin Library Collections Threatened by Mold By Alex Miller Contributing Writer An outbreak of mold has forced Olin Library administrators to close portions of the library while specially equipped crews clean the affected areas. The government document stacks will be off-limits for the next few weeks. Students wishing to retrieve documents from the closed stacks must go to the main reference desk and make a request.

The basement and the eastern side of the building on the second and third levels were affected by the outbreak. Signs have been posted in these areas to warn library patrons.

According to the Office of Student Health, students who suffer from allergies should stay away from the mold-infested areas. Allergy sufferers should seek treatment at the Davison Health Center.

"You try to maintain a book collection at 50% humidity, but the humidity fluctuates a lot because of Middletown’s climate this time of year," said University Librarian Robert Adams. "This is the worst [mold] outbreak we’ve ever experienced."

According to Adams, mold grows on certain books in the library every year because of the summer humidity in Middletown. Normally mold is only found in the basement, but this year it has grown on the second and third levels as well.

Cleaning crews using vacuum cleaners equipped with special filters will go into affected areas and remove mold from each of the affected books individually. They will begin in the government document stacks on Wednesday.

According to Processing Archivist Jeffrey Makala, mold can permanently damage library materials. He said no permanent damage has occurred so far.

"Mold can stain paper to the point where you can’t get it back to its original state," Makala said.

Most students were surprised to hear about the mold.

"That’s a disgrace. It reflects poorly on the school," said Benjamin Nadler ’02.

Christopher James, who works at the library front desk, said that he sympathizes with those who are not used to coping with mold.

"I come from a very moldy area. You have to learn to live with it. There’s no way to fight it because it’s a naturally occurring thing. People who don’t have to deal with mold are lucky," James said. "If they don’t spend to much time in the moldy areas, students can live a mold-free library existence."

According to Adams, the most effective method of preventing mold is through the use of a humidity control system. Olin Library’s current climate control system has no humidity control.

Adams went on to say that the University is considering permanent solutions to the mold problem. In addition to installing a humidity control system, which would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, possible remedies include adding a new filtration system or cleaning out the existing air ducts.

Beverly Domingue, physical plant manager of the library facility, said that Physical Plant ran tests on the air in the affected areas of the library. While toxic mold has been found in other public and academic libraries, the mold in Olin was determined to be common.

"Its spores are present in the air all the time," Domingue said. "We’re going to go in, clean all the books, and that should take care of it for now."

Domingue declined to comment on the likelihood of installing a moisture control system, stating that it is too early to tell what specific options and costs might be.