ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

Fire at Bar Harbor

Staff and faculty members (inset) dry maps and library books damaged in the fire at the College of the Atlantic.

Bar Harbor Times

The Thorndike Library of the College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, Maine, suffered a massive loss of its book, periodical, and reference collections in a fire that destroyed Kaelber Hall, the college’s administration building, on July 25. The library, located in a wing of the administration building that was formerly a 100-year-old summer estate, had just been dedicated two weeks earlier in honor of donors R. Amory and Elizabeth Thorndike. Losses were estimated at well over $600,000.

College staff, fire department personnel, and other volunteers managed to save the card catalog, OCLC computer equipment, and approximately 5,000 volumes from the flames. These volumes, although severely damaged by water and smoke, will serve as the basis for rebuilding the 12-year-old college’s highly specialized collection in ecology and natural sciences.

Fire, cont’d

The Town of Bar Harbor provided temporary quarters for the Thorndike Library in an industrial arts building. Library staff aided by volunteers from the college and the community worked seven days a week to dry and salvage the volumes saved from the flames. Many books were transferred to a large blueberry freezer in Ellsworth where they have been stored frozen until they can be properly treated. The library opened for business last month in time for the start of the academic year.

Besides destoying the library, flames, smoke and water also ruined the college’s kitchen, dining facility, and business offices.

The fire, which has been attributed to a human, not mechanical, origin, apparently began in the front corner of Kaelber Hall in the early hours of July 25. By the time it was spotted and reported by a fisherman on the town pier, flames had filled much of the lobby and were shooting up through the roof. Firemen from Bar Harbor, Ellsworth, Northeast Harbor, and Acadia National Park rushed to the scene at 4:30 a. m. ‚ but were unable to contain the fire which then spread to the library wing. The blaze was stopped in the library, and the library offices and Natural History Museum (in an adjacent building) received only minor smoke and water damage.

The College of the Atlantic urgently needs books and periodical backfiles to help rebuild its collection. Especially needed are indexes and abstract services in general science and ecology, as well as post-1950 books in the following areas: natural history, alternative energy, botany, ecology, environmental studies, evolution, zoology, art, architecture, contemporary literature, design, economics, psychology, and public policy.

Gifts, offers of assistance, and inquiries should be directed to: Marcia L. Dworak, Librarian, Thorndike Library, College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, ME 04609; (207) 288-9082. ■ ■