The Wrenfield library branch reopened its meeting room Thursday, nearly seven months after a roof leak damaged ceiling panels and forced clubs and children’s programs into smaller corners of the building.
The rest of the branch remained open during repairs. Contractors replaced wet insulation, sections of ceiling grid, and stained acoustic panels after the roof flashing was repaired in October. A final air-quality check was completed last week.
Branch manager Tessa Young rolled the folding tables back into the room Wednesday and found a hand-drawn “welcome back” sign tucked behind the storage cart.
“Everybody adapted, but you could feel the branch getting smaller,” Young said. “The chess group was beside the copier, and story time was competing with the front door.”
The room seats 42 in its usual arrangement. The first public use will be Saturday’s seed exchange, followed by the Tuesday evening book group.
Not every program will return immediately. The branch published a reduced summer schedule while the room was closed and cannot restore instructor and volunteer commitments on short notice. Weekly children’s programs will continue, but two monthly workshops will resume in September.
The repair cost $27,800 from the library system’s building-maintenance reserve. That amount includes roof flashing, interior work, testing, and replacement ceiling material. Damage to books was limited to six withdrawn reference volumes stored near the wall.
The library system plans to inspect flashing at its other branches before fall. No similar leak has been reported at the main Brackenmill library or the North Cressvale branch.