Mold Issues Force Closure Of Kendall And Wolfson Campus Libraries
Help: Equipment from Belfor Property Restoration sits in the Kendall Campus library after mold was discovered at the site. The library has been closed since Feb. 12.
The Kendall and Wolfson Campus libraries have been closed since Feb. 12 after mold was discovered at the facilities, according to Juan Mendieta, the College’s director of communications.
“In an abundance of caution, the MDC facilities teams roped off the area and consulted with professionals to resolve the issue,” Mendieta said.
The issue was discovered when mold was detected on a few books during a recent, scheduled review. Mendieta said this is not uncommon in libraries and places that hold many books or paper products.
“We’re doing some remediation,” said Kendall Campus Senior Director of Campus Administration, Brian Stokes when asked about the library at his campus. “We have some old books and we are addressing some moisture and mold issues with the books. We estimate that the review and remediation work will take at least two more weeks.”
Mendieta said the College will keep the library team and users informed regarding the progress.
“Library employees will work from the Computer Courtyard or other designated areas on campus,” Mendieta said. “During the cleanup process, users and employees will not be able to access the library collection. Students will be able to access electronic resources and receive instructions and assistance from other locations.”
Although the total cost figure has not been determined yet, the College will be inspecting every single book at both libraries.
“The problem seems to be mild and contained,” Mendieta said.
Do Not enter: The Wolfson Campus library was closed on Feb. 12 after mold was discovered at the facility. The Wolfson Campus library serves about 750 students.
Each major center of Miami Dade College has its own library designed to meet the academic needs of its students, faculty and staff. Each library offers a wide variety of resources including books, e-books, audiovisual materials, magazines and journals.
Services provided at both Wolfson and Kendall Campuses include: one-on-one consultation with librarians including information literacy instruction; access to collections which include books, magazines and journals, DVDs and audiobooks; access to computers/Internet, printers, and photocopiers; access to quiet and collaborative study rooms; access to study areas; access to interlibrary loan material; resetting student passwords to access myMDC accounts as well as access to course materials in the reserve collections.
The Kendall library serves about 1,000 patrons per day and the Wolfson Campus library serves about 750 people per day.
“There are currently no other buildings facing this issue,” Mendieta said. “It is difficult to determine the exact date for the mold development, but since a limited number of books were affected, it seems that this is a recent situation that was observed some two weeks ago for the first time and addressed immediately.”
