WYTHEVILLE, Va. – The Wythe County Public Library has been closed indefinitely, due to overhead pipes freezing and then bursting.

 The bursting pipes are responsible for flooding the building’s children’s section, as well as offices and bathrooms, with an estimated 300-350 gallons of water.

 The problems began yesterday afternoon, when the heat pump froze due to the extreme temperatures, forcing the device to enter into defrost mode.

 With no working heater, the building’s overhead PVC pipes quickly froze and then burst.

 Throughout the afternoon the busted pipes inundated the library with water, until the flooding was discovered around 6 p.m.

 Billy Bowers, Wythe County’s buildings and grounds maintenance supervisor, says that county employees are working to vacuum the ground water, as well as to repair other portions of the building that were damaged.

 Anita Wood, branch manager of the Wythe County Public Library, says that the library has suffered major damages in the carpet and ceiling.  Several books were also destroyed in the incident.

 Bowers said he hopes to see the building reopen by the end of the week.

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