Suited up with a respirator mask and gloves, librarian Erin Holder had to dispose of over 300 books that suffered from water damage in the school library over the summer.

Holder was in the process of rearranging some things in the library to make room for a new display when she discovered the damaged books.

“I noticed I felt really stiff pages, indicating water damage,” Holder said. “When I looked a little bit closer I noticed that black mold was just ripping through them.”

Holder has dubbed the event  ‘The Great Flood of 2018.’

“It was over 300 books that were destroyed in The Great Flood,” Holder said.

The school has filed an insurance claim to cover the cost of the damage.

“We have processed the claim, we are just waiting to hear back on if we are going to get the full amount or if we are just going to get a partial amount,” Holder said.

Holder has compiled a full list of the ruined books and the dates they were last checked out, so that they can reference it if they do not receive the full amount of money.

“If we don’t get the full amount we’ll just get some of the more popular titles,” Holder said. “But, I don’t foresee us getting any less than what we requested.”

They are still not sure exactly what caused the damage, but they are in touch with Roofmasters to get the problem repaired as soon as possible.

“Until it is fixed we are keeping those shelves that were affected by the water damage empty,” Holder said. “We have a little sign that says ‘ghost books’ on the empty shelf in memory of the ones that were lost.”

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Gallery • 5 Photos

Ceiling panels were stained after water leaked through the library ceiling over the summer.