It was a grey, rainy day when Maureen McKee walked up to the Fredericton Public Library. But she had a reason to smile — after being closed for over a week, its doors again opened to the public.
“Oh, it’s so good to have the library open again. It’s such a wonderful resource that we have in our little town, our little city,” she said.
On Sept. 30, a vandal smashed a window, walls and computers and stole about $300 from an internal fund contributed by staff for staff. The vandal also sprayed fire extinguishers and caused water damage to the first floor.
Police have arrested one man, Kelly Gordon Kleim, and charged him with breaking and entering, as well as charges of mischief and of theft over $5,000
The city’s building manager, Scott Brown, estimated repairs would cost $50,000 to $100,000.
But one week after the incident, the damage was hardly noticeable except for painting supplies, a missing water fountain in the children’s section and repair workers.
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Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers said she heard from a number of people who were concerned about when the library would open again.
“It appeared originally to be worse than what it was. After the cleanup was done, it became evident to staff that they would be able to get it opened back up in relatively short order,” she said.
Resident questions motive
But for local reader Reg Murphy, questions remain about a motive.
“I’d like to understand what possessed them to do such a thing. It’s in my mind, it’s just unimaginable that someone would do that to the library,” he said.
Police haven’t yet revealed a motive, and neither the mayor nor the chair of the library’s board, Ben Wolthers, would speculate on one. Wolthers confirmed that Kleim was a library user.
And the destruction took a toll on the staff.
“It’s been a bit of a journey. I think probably their lowest point was early last week,” Wolthers said.
But the closure has highlighted how important the library is to members of the community — like Megan Valk.
She was at the library with her two young sons for a storytime event.
“It’s just a great community resource, it’s just a source of social time for our kids as a stay-at-home parent. It’s free, the programs are free which means it’s accessible to everyone,” she said.
Troy Piercy is a geologist who uses the library computers to scan documents for work. The reopening makes his job a little easier.
“It was kind of hard, because I have to get stuff out and scan stuff and this is where I come to do my work for that,” he said.
Wolthers said the outpouring of community support has been fantastic — including raising close to $10,000 for the library’s endowment fund which goes towards programs and new books.
“It’s surprising and not surprising in a way, because we know what a deep connection we have with the Fredericton community,” he said.
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