The flooding in Centennial Science and Engineering Library didn't just inconvenience students looking for books.
The New Media and Extended Learning offices, which were housed on the first floor of the library, were temporarily relocated to Woodward Hall because of the flood, which occurred on Dec. 24.
Debby Knotts, manager of NMEL, said the cost of damages and relocation has yet to be determined.
"We are putting together figures right now," she said.
She said the most damage was done to computer monitors by falling ceiling tiles.
"It was mostly just inconvenient for us," she said. "It doesn't even compare to the kind of burden the library has had to face."
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The move proved to be tedious for the staff, Knotts said.
Mark McKee said in an e-mail the offices had to be moved at the same time as the books.
"Which meant that 80 percent of the equipment was carried two flights of stairs as the elevators were unavailable," he said.
Knotts said the offices were relocated over the course of three or four days. Staff carried out most of the move, but some help was given.
"Some of the equipment was computers and monitors," she said. "We wanted to make sure great care was taken."
Knotts said the department, which provides campus-wide support for WebCT, is fully functional in the new building. WebCT is a course management software that instructors can use to quiz their students online, among other things.
"The damage was minimal," she said. "We had to do business as usual."
Johann van Reenan, director of Centennial Library, was the first person called into the building after reports of flooding.
He said one of the first things he wanted to do was prevent the computer equipment from getting damaged.
"All of their CPUs were on the floor," van Reenan said. "I didn't want to touch them too much, so I just put them on chairs."
No other electrical equipment in the library had too much damage, he said.
While holding down the fort in their makeshift offices, some furniture and other office equipment is being stored at the old Elk's Lodge building on University Boulevard.
"These are just things we don't need access to for a couple of months," she said. "It's a lot easier to try to use existing resources of the spaces we are in."
Knotts thanked Media Technologies' service for sharing their offices with New Media and Extended Learning in Woodward.
"We're grateful for the space they have made available to us," she said, adding students should rest assured that WebCT is fully functional.
"Our staff has been putting in a lot of over time working to stay online," Knotts said.
Knotts said the fast action of others is responsible for the easy transition to Woodward.
"We had amazing support from Telecom, CIRT and Physical Plant making sure we could remain functional," she said.
