9/8/98 - Started to clean and wipe the shelves. Roof began to leak again from an afternoon rainstorm.

9/9/98 - Cleaned and wiped current periodical shelving. Marshall Hayes (grad. student) took inventory of water damaged items (tables upstairs). Today was the beginning of this diary.

9/10/98 - Four work-study students were hired and they started cleaning the downstairs shelves with a mixture of liquid Lysol and water. Each book had to be wiped with lysol disinfectant spray. A Conservation/Preservation Specialist from the Special Collections Department in Perkins Library provided these instructions:

"… use Handi-wipes and spray Lysol for books, but spray the rag with the Lysol not the book! … wipe not only the outside covers but generally open the covers and catch the inside edge as well. Use the liquid Lysol mixed in a pail of water to wipe down the shelves. Be sure that your folks rinse and change the Handi-wipes rags frequently, don't let them get too dirty."

9/25/98 - Roof contractors from Raleigh left today. Supposedly the roof is fixed.

9/30/98 - Talked to the head of Cataloging Section at Perkins Library about changing the OCLC card profile. Decided to take the opportunity to close the card catalog, considering some of the catalog cabinets were destroyed. Decision was made to receive shelflist card only, instead of whole card set.

10/1/98 - Remnants of Hurricane Georges is having an affect on us. It started raining yesterday and continues to rain today. Roof is still LEAKING! All plastic drop cloths used during Hurricane Bonnie still cover certain parts of the collection.

During the first day of cleanup by the faculty and students, some books were transported to the dining hall, for fear of further damage. Those books have been reshelved.

Ben, one of the student assistants, continues to wipe the journals (in the M's now) with Lysol spray.

We are in the process of carpet bidding and installation. Specifications were discussed and colors have been chosen (some type of blue/aquamarine for the library and a shade of red for my office) Carpet is suppose to be installed in 3 weeks.

My four students and I continue to clean the main part of the library. We are moving what was left of the current journals into the working room next to my office. This should help to have a "cleaner" space for carpet installation. Damaged furniture still remains in the library to this date. I continue to add to my withdrawn/damaged list of books and journals.

To this date, items in the cold storage freezer have not been reviewed. I am still in the temporary office in Bookhout Laboratory 108.

10/6/98 - Had a conversation with the Serials Department Head at Perkins Library concerning insurance money to replace missing journals. Faxon came up with a preliminary quote of $10,000 for replacing missing volumes and issues. Some publishers indicated that they would send "for free" if payment information was provided.

10/21/98 - 4 journal titles were transferred to DOSS (Duke Off-Site Storage in Durham)

Sedimentary Geology 1,NO.1(1967) 3(1969) 4,NO.1-2(1970) 5(1971)-27(1980) 28,NO.2-4(1981) 29(1981)-53(1987) 55(1988)

Tethys 1(1969)-10(1981/1982)

Theoretical Population Biology 1(1970)-33 NO.1(1988)

Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 1(1969)-10(1981/1982)

10/22/98 - I moved BACK into my office!

10/27/98 - We now have a few study areas downstairs. Ben has now started to clean the beginning of the shelving stacks, using Lysol. Erin finished transferring cards into a "good" card catalog cabinet. We had to adjust remaining cards to keep a backfile. Damaged furniture still "sits" around, no carpet yet, ceiling tiles still not in place. Have not had another "test" of rain to see if ceiling leaks.

11/6/98 - Found out yesterday that the carpet would be installed some time after Thanksgiving. Today, I inquired about the library ceiling. I did not want the carpet installed without getting the ceiling tiles in place first. They will be starting at the back end of the library some time next week. Have "pushed" for the damaged furniture to be taken out of the library to make room. As of today, still don't know if the roof leaks. Have not had any substantial rain for quite some time now. Found about 6 more journal volumes covered in mold and mildew … a complete loss.

11/9/98 - The lab maintenance crew finally came today; they're replacing the ceiling tiles. Working at the back end of the library first.

11/11/98 - Just got word that I can order the circulation counter. Also, it rained yesterday evening. Still have about 3 small leaks, including one in my office.

11/20/98 - The circulation counter has been ordered and it will take about 10-12 weeks for delivery. Received a great 20% discount from DEMCO, Inc. The ceiling tiles are still being installed. Back end of the library is finished. My work study students have finished wiping the books w/ Lysol in the down stairs stacks and have started upstairs. As of this week, no leaks have been found. We had a good hard rain on 11/14/98. We decided to take down the rest of the plastic drapes that were located in the upstairs stacks. The old circulation counter has not been removed from the library yet.

11/24/98 - I went over to Carteret Quick-Freezing Co. over in Beaufort where my boxes of books are stored. Made a quick review and decided to let BMS, Co. (with approval first) handle further processing of these items. They will be removed some time next week and shipped to Ft. Worth, Texas. I spoke with Keith Board of BMS Catastrophe and he'll make arrangements for pick-up. I was just told today that the carpet is supposed to be installed on Monday, Nov. 30, 1998. It should take one week.

11/25/98 - Ceiling tiles in downstairs area of the library have been installed. All that's left to do are my office, upstairs, 2 back carrels, and the photocopy room next to my office.

11/30/98 - The carpet is here! All damaged furniture has been removed this morning. Finally, progress is made! It appears that the dorm is also being torn down.

12/2/98 - The carpet in my office has been installed.

12/4/98 - As of today, all carpet downstairs has been installed. They are working on the last half of the upstairs area and the stairway.

2/3/99 - The circulation counter has been assembled. All ceiling tiles are in place except the photocopier room and 2 carrels in back of library. I was finally able to unpack my personal items from boxes. My office shelves are now in order. 23 boxes of binding shipment were mailed to Durham on 1/28/99. Still waiting for the boxes from Ft. Worth.

I can't believe it; the library actually looks like a library again! Course, the roof still leaks.

3/11/99 - Shipment of boxes from Ft. Worth arrived a couple of weeks ago and the 2 student assistants were able to unpack and reshelve the items. Over 90% were recoverable and in usable condition.

3/26/99 - As of today, we're still waiting on the vertical blinds for the 2 large plate glass windows and also the furniture for the reading area. We expect them any time now. I have had to hire a new student for Spring Term II and she is working on another shipment of journals for Duke's Off-Site storage. Amber has also reshelved the binding shipment that was returned last week. We still have a few leaks in the ceiling. All the computers have been put back in place, including the 2 new PCs that we received from main campus.

4/27-28/99 - Vertical blinds have been installed.

All in all, I am very pleased with the progress of our library recovery. I have received many good comments on how the library looks, especially the circulation counter and carpet. It's been a long hard journey and even my own stress has diminished. It's quite a relief!

In any event, I hope this personal log will prove useful for future reference. It certainly demonstrates that recovery from disasters of any kind involve a lot of planning, organization, and PATIENCE!