Zimmerman Library opened Thursday afternoon after a flood in the basement forced it to close Wednesday.
It was closed for almost 24 hours while workers pumped and vacuumed water out of the basement and checked for damage to electric lines.
The basement was closed for renovation after a fire in 2006. Workers had installed new carpet, tile, drywall, insulation and bookshelves.
"It's demoralizing, basically, to see what we've accomplished and see this happen," said Rick Henrard, project manager for the basement renovation. "It was pretty much done."
Insurance adjusters are working with the University to determine how much it will cost to repair the damage, said Mary Vosevich, director of Physical Plant.
"Hopefully, next week we'll have a good idea of what that is," she said.
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Between 75 and 100 publications, mostly government books and journals, were affected by the flood, said Martha Bedard, dean of University Libraries.
Bedard said some materials were laid out to dry, and the rest will be freeze-dried to keep them intact.
The basement was scheduled to reopen in January.
"It's unclear how much or if this will delay the reopening," she said. "There's a tremendous amount of effort to keep us on track."
The flood happened Wednesday at about 2:30 p.m. A pipe connector came apart, and as much as six inches of water covered the floor.
About 500 people evacuated the library, and power was shut off until workers could determine if any electric lines were damaged.
Workers are trying to determine what caused the pipe connector to fail, Vosevich said.
The new carpet and insulation will have to be replaced, said Joel Straquadine, facilities maintenance manager for Physical Plant.
"Getting carpet wet like that shortens the life expectancy tremendously," he said. "(The insulation) will stay wet inside a wall forever if you don't get it out of there."
Non-ceramic tile that had been installed will also have to be replaced, and bottom panels of new drywall need replacing as well, Straquadine said.
He said it's important to remove the wet carpet and drywall so the basement can dry out.
"We don't want the high humidity," he said. "We don't want to get mold in there."
Bedard said the materials that have to be replaced will be taken out of the library through a skylight that goes down into the basement.
"That's how they're going to take the debris out," she said. "We're really trying hard to not inconvenience users of the library."
