Damage to Fust Library: Tale of two storms at the historic building
BY BOBBIE MARQUIS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”
Before describing Hurricane Milton’s impact on the library, we must say that this is the second storm story to come out of the Johann Fust Library Foundation in the past month. Both are tales of regular people doing heroic things in the face of extreme circumstances.
On the heels of Hurricane Helene, the first story was an exciting saga of victory and inventiveness. Library Foundation Manager Julianne Greenberg bailed out the eight- to 12-inch storm surge from the library property, preventing floodwaters from causing more severe damage. The morning after the storm, she hitched a ride with her fiancé, Patrick Bigness, as he rode onto the island for his shift at the Boca Grande Fire Department. She used the verb “MacGyvered” to describe how she removed a pump from the shell fountain and configured it to drain the courtyard and loggia. She then bailed the children’s library using a dustpan and a wastebasket and constructed a sandbag dam to keep water from coming back in.
Two weeks later, Hurricane Milton came to show us that we didn’t know the first thing about storm surge.
Helene was just a small taste of what was to come. Milton brought the Gulf into the courtyard. The children’s library, media center, and library staff office were deluged. High-water marks measured two to four feet.
Helene destroyed the lowest shelf of children’s books, and then her big brother Milton soaked the second- lowest shelf. Every air conditioner on the property and much of the electrical system was saturated and ruined.
The glimmer of light during this difficult time was that the elevated stacks room, which houses the library’s main collection, stayed dry. When the electricity went on, the air conditioner worked, and the room was cool. The brilliantly curated collection of adult books stayed safe.
Now comes another story of heroics. For eight days, Lee County’s Senior Librarian Toni Vanover and Library Associate Stacie Bak spent many hours safely stowing the children’s books and media collection into the cool, dry stacks room. One by one, the dedicated librarians cleaned and dried each piece of the surviving Johann Fust Community Library collection. Amid so much damage and loss, they saved thousands of books.
What comes next for the restoration of our library is more deep cleaning, installing new air conditioners, repairing damage to the electrical system, and drying bookshelves, walls, and floors. The good news is that the structure is sound. Not a crack. Fortytwo- inch barrel fans are running in the now-empty spaces that flooded.
As these rooms dry, we continue to assess repairs that must be made.
The library building is closed for now.
We don’t have a reopening date yet, but we are working hard, and it will be as soon as possible.
Someone once said that over its 74 years, the Johann Fust Library has weathered more than 50 hurricanes and tropical storms. So now the count is 52, and the beautiful pink lady still stands. Soon, the community will return to enjoy the gardens, sit in the loggia, and read a good book.
And we will tell the stories about how, in the autumn of 2024, just before the start of season, Hurricanes Helene and Milton came through.
Speaker events canceled by Fust Library
The Fust Library Foundation has had to cancel two upcoming speaker events due to the storms. Further information on programs is to be decided.
David Ferriero, 10th Archivist of the United States. David was scheduled to be in conversation with Linda Fairstein on November 7th.
Kirstin Valdez Quade, author of The Five Wounds. Kirstin’s talk here was planned in collaboration with the Hermitage Artist Retreat on December 17th. Our thoughts are with our friends at The Hermitage as they recover.
