COLUMBUS, Ohio — If you work remotely, the library may now be your office. If you're a student, it's where you score solid Wi-Fi access. It may be a place your children get help with homework or you get help on the job search. The library has become more like a community center, a place people depend on.
People like Vince Campise, who need a quiet workspace.
“I had a virtual call to take this morning,” he said. “There are some rooms behind us you can reserve for half an hour, an hour, and can kind of go in there and do a zoom call if you want. Just gets you out of your other environment and into a different place.”
But for some, their routine has gone off track. More than a week ago record cold caused pipes to burst at two busy Columbus Metropolitan Library branches in Linden and Groveport.
The damage is so extensive they still don't know the cost or how soon they'll be able to re-open the doors.
There are 23 locations part of this library system and an increasing number of people are utilizing their local branches.
“Last year we had 3.8 million customers, visits come through all of our locations. we're expecting similar if not more in 2023,” said Dorcas Taylor Jones, Communications Manager Columbus Metropolitan Library.
But for many who depend on the South East and Linden branches they'll need to get to another branch for what they need.
“We're more than just a home for books,” said Taylor Jones. “We have become a place where families come to get school help for their children, a place where people come to fax materials, they come to get job help.”
And that's why the repair work is urgent.
“Having that access is really important,” she said.