Water line bursts at MSU library, damages hundreds of books

BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) A pipe froze and burst in Montana State University's Renne Library yesterday, flooding the building with thousands of gallons of water and damaging some of the library's most valuable books.

Jeff Butler is MSU's director of facility operations and maintenance. He says the flood happened shortly after 6 a.m. The pipe probably froze sometime Sunday night or Monday morning when temperatures on campus dipped to 19 degrees below zero.

The water flooded a study lounge on the third floor before seeping to the second floor. It's there that the library keeps a valuable collection of signed and manuscript copies of books about Montana history.

Library dean Tamara Miller says hundreds of books were damaged but estimated that 80 to 90 percent of them could be salvaged.

Information from: Bozeman Daily Chronicle, http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 01-23-08 0601CST | save this article / add to your favorites list