ROCHESTER, Minn. – A weekend water leak will keep the Rochester Public Library closed for a third straight day.

A faulty water softener left several inches of standing water in the central section of all three library floors, forcing it to close Sunday, Monday, and now Tuesday to allow for more cleanup time.

Library Director Audrey Betcher says only about three carts of books from the library collection were damaged by the leak. “We are fortunate that most of the leak affected staff areas and public areas that do not house collections,” says says.

However, books collected by the Friends of the Library to use in quarterly book sales and in the Friends Bookstore were heavily damaged. Friends Bookstore co-manager Pat Stephenson says they probably lost about $20,000 worth of books.

The damage done to the library itself is not known at this time. Betcher credits library staff and city teammates for preventing further damage by responding quickly to the leak.