High-Tech Drying of Books to Take Additional Time

The manager of a Huntington Beach space laboratory where books damaged in the Los Angeles Central Library fire are being dried said Sunday that the high-tech process is working quite well, but the project will not be completed as quickly as had been expected.

North Selvey, who is heading the operation at the McDonnell Douglas Space Simulation Center, said that between 500 and 600 gallons of water have been removed from 20,000 of the 700,000 books that sustained water damage during the April 29 arson fire that caused $22 million in damage.

The books were quick-frozen to prevent mildew and then placed in the space simulator. The simulator produces a low-presure atmosphere like that found at 110,000 feet altitude and allows the moisture in the books to turn to gas, which is periodically pumped from the room and converted back to water.

“It was a flood. It was like a dam broke in here,” added Larry Horton, a laboratory engineer.

Selvey said the project had been expected to be completed by Sunday but apparently the task turned out to be more than his staff had counted on.

“We thought our system could handle it, but it was more than we imagined. The chamber isn’t built for that kind of volume,” he said.

Selvey said the process is working well, but it will take another week before all 20,000 books are dried. As of Sunday, about one-third of the books had been dried.

By donating the chamber, McDonnell Douglas is saving the City of Los Angeles thousands of dollars. But Selvey said the company cannot donate the chamber past next week, so all the books will have to be dried by then.

“I have to clean out the chamber by next weekend for another job,” he said.

Jeff Fister, another McDonnell Douglas official, said the book-drying process has been more successful than anticipated.

“Some (of the books) look like they came right off the shelf. We are very pleased,” Fister said.

Betty Gay, the Los Angeles Central Library director, also said she was pleased with the job McDonnell Douglas has performed. But she added that the water-damaged books will need additional work such as rebinding before being returned to library shelves.

On Friday, fire officials in Los Angeles released a detailed composite drawing of a man in his late 20s or early 30s who was seen in a restricted area of the library just minutes before the blaze broke out. Los Angeles Fire Chief Donald Manning emphasized that the man is not suspected of starting the blaze, but is wanted for questioning.