News & Events

The air quality report came back negative meaning that we do not have an air
quality concern anywhere in the building. However, mold was found in the HVAC
unit that services the Children's Department and has been remediated.

The odor that had been present and the mold in the HVAC unit was caused by
leaks in the exterior duct work which allowed moisture to get into the system.
When the HVAC unit was running it circulated outside odors inside the building.
The exterior ducts have been cleaned, repaired and sealed so that this should
not occur again.

During the time that the Children's Department was closed, the staff was finishing
the "Dewey-less" project for the department. Once we reopen the department,
all of the books, including preschool fiction and picture books will be arranged on
the shelves by subject making the department more user-friendly for our children
and their families. We hope that you will enjoy the change!

The department will reopen on Monday, April 30th. We are sorry for any
inconvenience that this may have caused but we are confident that when we
reopen the department will be better than ever!

Although the air quality testing was completed on Wednesday, April 11th, we are
awaiting interpretation of the air quality analysis. It has been determined that the
duct work between the HVAC units and the building is in need of repair and was
the probable cause of the odor issues. The work on the ducts will be scheduled
once the bids to do the work have been received. After the repair work has been
completed, the Children's Department staff will put the department back in order
and the department will again be open to the public.

Our sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused and thank
you for your patience.

To Our Valued Library Patrons:

As of Tuesday, April 10, 2012 we will no longer be able to borrow materials
owned by the following 6 Northern Will County/Southern Cook County libraries.
These libraries will be withdrawing from our computer database (PrairieCat).

Please let a library staff member know if a title you'd like is not available. We may
be able to obtain it from a library that is not a member of PrairieCat.

Thank you.

• Fountaindale Public Library District – Main
• Fountaindale Public Library District – Bookmobile
• Joliet Public Library – Main
• Joliet Public Library – Black Road Branch
• Lemont Public Library District
• Plainfield Public Library District
• Shorewood-Troy Public Library District
• White Oak Library District – Crest Hill
• White Oak Library District – Lockport
• White Oak Library District – Romeoville

An air quality assessment will be performed during the week of April 2nd to determine the source and type of recurring air quality issues in the Children's Department. We hope to have the results back during the week of April 9th. The Department will remain closed to the public until the problems have been resolved. If there is something that you need, staff will be available to retrieve the items for you. Thank you for your patience during this challenging time.

Your available holds will be held for 3 days instead of 5 days of notification. Please pick the item up within 3 days or call (815) 478-3987 to make other arrangements. After 3 days the item will be sent on to its next request and your hold will be removed.

If you find that you cannot place a hold on an item in the online catalog, it
may be because that item is new and we do not own it. In order to reduce
delivery costs, the PrairieCat consortia has agreed to suspend holds until an
item has been in the online catalog for three months. After three months have
passed, you will be able to place a hold on that particular item. If there is
something that you would like, that we do not own, and that you prefer not to wait
three months, fill out the Suggest a Purchase form and we will try to fulfill your
request.

It's official-you can now download library ebooks onto your Kindle! Just check out  downloadable ebooks at our OMNI site and get to reading!

The library will be closed Saturday September 3rd through Monday the 5th. We will reopen on the 6th at 9 AM. No materials will be due during this period. Enjoy the long weekend!

A big thank you to the 500+ people who came out on Saturday and ate sno-cones and popcorn, jumped in the bounce house, visited the vendors, checked out the Library quilt group, heard Dr. Orange tell his tales, or entered into the raffles for the Family Fair. You made the day a huge success! Also a thank you goes out to anyone who just stopped by the Library and checked items out.

A few weeks ago, the Children's Department staff noticed an odor present from time to time in the department. It had the odd characteristics of coming and going with the smell not necessarily the same from day to day. Sometimes there would be an odor, sometimes, not. Some staff smelled it, some did not.

The first thing that we did was to call the Fire Department to inspect the building. Their equipment did not pick up any type of harmful leak indoors. Although the Fire Department’s equipment did not indicate a problem, to ensure that we covered all bases, we called Ni-Gas to check for a possible gas leak. A gas leak was indeed detected but it was located in an outdoor gas line on the north side of the building that services the Children's Department. As a result, the gas company turned off all gas to the building. The gas lines are scheduled to be replaced by the HVAC company that services our equipment. Because the gas has been turned off at the building, there is no danger of a natural gas leak.

Within a day or so of the gas being turned off, we began smelling an unpleasant odor yet again. We called out our HVAC company and they checked our equipment and again, found nothing indicating a problem. They provided a portable air purifier for us to use that would kill toxins that might be present in the walls, ductwork or room. In an effort to provide the maximum benefit from the use of the air purifying equipment, the department was closed and sealed off from the rest of the building for one week while the air was being treated. The filter was turned off on Tuesday afternoon (August 23rd). The room was left sealed until Thursday afternoon to see if the smell returned after the filtration process was stopped. After 48 hours without an issue, the plastic seal between the departments was removed and we are in the process of returning the department to business as usual. We are hopeful that the week of intense air purification has resolved the air quality problems in the department.

Because we did not have the opportunity to shelve the items that were returned during the week that the department was closed, and because the returned books were stacked in piles on all surfaces of the Children's Department, the department will not reopen to the public until Saturday, August 27th.

We are also cognizant of the fact that a book will wick moisture out of the air and hold humidity. Both of the Library’s HVAC units were replaced within the past few years and work as efficiently as possible.

We are cautiously optimistic that the problem has been resolved but rest assured that if we detect additional air quality issues within the building, we will go beyond the expertise of our HVAC company and look for another solution to protect our patrons and our staff.