Butler County library experiences water damage, ice dams after Pittsburgh's winter storm

The Mars Area Public Library has fallen victim to the recent snow and cold, as it experiences significant water damage due to ice dams. 

Janae Callihan and the team at the Mars Area Public Library have gained a really good understanding of what has taken over the top of their library.

"As we're experiencing the temperatures try to go up, and that ice melt has nowhere to go," Callihan said. "So it's coming back into our building. We're seeing some major damage to our dry walls, to our ceiling, and to our floor."

They've tried attacking the source by chipping away at the ice and having others do it too. But there's still plenty of it up on the roof.

"I'm actually thankful that we haven't had a huge temperature day. Because that would just melt everything extremely fast with nowhere to go in our gutters," Callihan said.

Meanwhile, for the damage that has already been done, their insurance has not been very helpful.

"The answer that we're getting is nothing because the roof is not technically damaged," Jennifer Bainbridge, board of trustees president at the Mars Area Public Library, said.

There is a lot of cash flowing around for fixes. Callihan said the library lost its water heater about two weeks ago, and it has already blown through its repair budget for the year.

The library is looking to have community help with things like ice melt. In some ways, the community already has.

Callihan said community members and organizations have already brought in industrial-sized fans, adding that workers from Adams Township have come to help, too. It hopes businesses can donate some time or provide the library with a discount, wishing to go back to what it does best.

"It's so much more than just providing books," Anastacia Nelson, the vice president of the library's Board of Trustees, said. "The library very much is providing access to education."

"We're hoping some businesses that are willing to either donate their time or give us some discount will reach out to us," Callihan said.

The library is trying to cover the cost of the repairs with donations.

Donations can be made by phone by calling 724-625-9048 or on their website at this link.