Hundreds Of Rare Books Damaged After Water Leak At California State Library

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – More than 250 books at the California State Library were damaged in a ceiling leak.

Water from Monday's storm pooled on a balcony and seeped into the library's third-floor ceiling, officials say. The water then dripped onto stacks of volumes housed in the library's rare books collection – some of which were bound in the 1800s.

Library staff discovered the damage on Tuesday and found many books were thoroughly soaked.

"When [staff] came in this morning, they saw water dripping from this hole," said Alex Vassar with the California State Library, showing the damage in the ceiling.

Library staff are on hand to save what they can, using sheets of paper and fans to get the volumes as dry as possible and as quickly as possible. They are sending the most damaged books over to McClellan Book Restoration Company to be freeze dried starting Wednesday.

Staff say, though the books will still be usable, the damage will last forever.