Mold-Help.org - The world's largest TOXIC MOLD website
  • Mold Basics
    • Mold Overview
    • Mold Symptoms
    • Mold Types & Images
    • Fungal Infections
  • Resources and Tools
    • Home Care
    • Health & Diet
    • Tips for Parents
    • Coping with Loss
    • Private Research
    • Legal Suggestions
    • Mold in the Bible
  • Mold News
    • Current Headlines
    • “Sick Buildings”
    • The Environment
    • Construction Industry
    • Govt. & Politics
    • The Workplace
    • Landlords & Tenants
    • Insurance Companies
    • Schools & Institutions
    • Strange Fungal Tales
    • Personal Mold Stories
    • Additional Articles
  • Agencies & Experts
  • About Mold-Help
    • Mold-Help News
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
  • Twitter
  • Facebook

Snow-Related Leak Destroys Thousands of Used Books

March 21, 2019/in The Environment /by Carolyn Willbanks

Thousands of donated books were damaged by a leak in the basement of the Deschutes Public Library system’s administrative building, temporarily canceling a quarterly nonprofit book sale.

According to local nonprofit Friends of the Bend Libraries, which hosts quarterly book sales with some proceeds supporting the Deschutes Public Library system, a black mold and mildew outbreak caused by the basement leak resulted in 5,000 to 6,000 used books being sent to the Knott Landfill’s recycling center this week. These books were intended to be sold in the nonprofit’s now-canceled book sale in April.

Not only do local readers buy books from these sales, but bookstore owners use them to stock their shelves. “As a bookstore owner and as anyone who loves books, it’s heartbreaking,” said Tom Beans, the owner of Dudley’s Bookshop Cafe.

According to Todd Dunkelberg, the library director for Deschutes Public Library system, melted snow traveled down the administrative building’s walls and flooded the basement, soaking the carpet and creating a musky, moldy atmosphere. He said although on first glance, most of the books didn’t show damage, it was still necessary to get rid of them because mold and mildew can show up later. He said the library noticed the flooding March 8.

Toby Baird, the co-chair of Friends of the Bend Libraries’ book sale committee, agreed getting rid of the books was a smart decision. “Even if a book isn’t wet, if it’s been a place with black mold or mildew spores, it’s basically Typhoid Mary,” she said. “It might not look bad, but if you put it with other books, you’ve lost a whole library.”

Baird said her nonprofit’s quarterly book sales typically generate about $4,000 each, and about $2,500 of the proceeds each year have gone to the Deschutes library system to help fund programs and buy books. Friends of the Bend Libraries only sold donated books, so no books owned by Deschutes Public Library system were destroyed due to mold, Dunkelberg said.

Dunkelberg said because most of the library system’s funds come from property taxes — in Deschutes County, 55 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value funds the library district — a pause in the book sales won’t harm the organization much. “There’s no immediate threat to any existing program because of this,” he said.

Beans said the bulk of the used books available at Dudley’s come from Friends of the Bend Libraries’ book sales, and now, he’ll have to travel to other cities, such as Eugene, to buy used books for his store.

According to Baird, the next step for her nonprofit is to find a new location to sell books and accept donations. The 80-year-old administration building basement is not only unsuitable because of the mold, she said, but also because the elevator shaft was flooded, making the basement inaccessible to those with disabilities. “If we get better parking, and we’re on street level, we’re going to get way more people,” Baird said. “We are going to look for those two characteristics, or we’re not going to take it.”

Beans said he didn’t think Friends of the Bend Libraries would be able to host another book sale before the end of the year. But Baird said she was hopeful the nonprofit would find a new location soon and begin accepting donations again. “It’s a really cool thing for the community to have these book sales,” she said. “It’s really well-attended, especially by people with kids.”

Friends of the Bend Library still operates small retail spaces inside both Bend libraries.

Written by Jackson Hogan for The Bulletin

Carolyn Willbanks
Author: Carolyn Willbanks

Tags: mold, moldy books, friends of the library lose books., snow causes moldy books
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://www.mold-help.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/moldhelp-654x300.png 0 0 Carolyn Willbanks https://www.mold-help.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/moldhelp-654x300.png Carolyn Willbanks2019-03-21 20:46:012019-04-02 16:40:49Snow-Related Leak Destroys Thousands of Used Books
You might also like
Mold-Help logo Clawson Homeowner Gets Reprieve
Mold-Help logo North Dakota; GFK Reports Mold Problem
Mold-Help logo Russia: Mould Plagues City's Historical Center
Mold-Help logo The Mold Help Diet
Mold-Help logo Medical Websites - Mediocre Medicine at Its Best
Image showing magnification of mold Introduction to Fungi - Videos

Mold News

  • Current Headlines
  • "Sick Buildings"
  • The Environment
  • Construction Industry
  • Govt. & Politics
  • The Workplace
  • Landlords & Tenants
  • Insurance Companies
  • Schools & Institutions
  • Personal Mold Stories
  • Strange Fungal Tales
  • Additional Articles

Latest Posts

  • Michigan Family Finds Toxic Mold Inside Home
  • California Winter Storms: Water Damage and Mold Exposure Concerns in California
  • Office and Commercial Buildings at Risk for Mold after COVID-19 Closings
  • COVID-19 Symptoms May Include Loss of Taste and Smell
  • New Mold Detox Information on the Horizon
  • COVID-19 Courses of Action
  • Stachybotrys
  • Simple and Easy Ways to Prevent the Coronavirus
  • Your Air Conditioning Unit Helps Eliminate Mold
  • Construction Workers Are Learning to Control Dust and Debris

Search Our Site:

Need Help with Mold?

Are you being affected by mold or other mycotoxins in your environment? Our team and community has over 15 years experience and can provide guidance. You can reach us by submitting your contact or through our Facebook page.

Have a Story to Share?

We're looking for stories and input to expand our database and to add to the personal experiences we've received from the thousands of victims over the last 15. If mold has impacted your life, please take the time to share your story. Your information is confidential and will only be shared with your permission.

Seeking Mold Experts

Are you an expert in the treatment of mold-affected health illnesses, or a provider of services to victims of mycotoxin exposure? Submit your information for listing consideration in our Agencies & Experts resource database.

Additional Resources

  • Contact Us
  • Sitemap
  • Glossary of Terms
  • Survivor Resources
  • General Inquiries
  • Legal Disclaimer

© Copyright - Mold-Help Organization
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Mold Basics
  • Resources and Tools
  • Agencies & Experts
  • Mold News
  • About Mold-Help
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OKLearn more

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Accept settingsHide notification only