While most Library staffers snuggled up to tv weather re ports announcing the status of the government-wide shutdown during the Blizzard of '96, some stalwarts dug out and came to work--to secure the buildings and patrol for water leaks, to serve Congress and to keep LC's data center operating properly.
Among the heroes were four Information Technology Services staffers who spent up to three consecutive nights at LC to safeguard computerized data; Library Police officers who worked extra long shifts until replacements could make it through the snow to relieve them; six Congressional Research Division staffers who kept the La Follette Congressional Reading Room open throughout the storm; and Architect of the Capitol (AOC) crews who worked long hours, shunting Jefferson roof leaks around collections and shoveling snow.
"We owe these colleagues our respect and gratitude," said Dr. Billington. "Thanks to their extraordinary efforts, service to Congress was maintained, and the Library and its collections were kept safe and secure."
According to Library Police Capt. Rosiland Y. Parker, the Library's average daily work force during the storm was 27 for each of the five days of the storm (Jan. 7-10 and 12). "The low was five employees on Monday, Jan. 8, and the high was 62 on Wednesday, Jan. 10," she said.
One of the biggest headaches during the storm was the Jefferson Building's leaky roof, which is scheduled to be replaced early this year. Dry, blowing snow also sifted into Madison Building air ducts, piling up to about four feet in one that caused a leak in the Oval Gallery, prompting removal of some items in the exhibit "New Growth: Recent Acquisitions in Caricature, Cartoon, and Illustration."
On duty throughout the storm, Library Police officers patrolled the Jefferson's decks storing collections about once an hour and reported leaks on Decks 7, 8, 9, 0 and 10 to an emergency response team that includes staffs of LC's Preservation Directorate and Facility Services, as well as the Architect of the Capitol. "SWAT" Teams Prevent Leak Damage to Books
Ultimately, only about 2 volumes from the general collections sustained water damage. "Considering the water that poured through that building, it is amazing that more books were not damaged," Doris Hamburg, head of the Preservation Directorate's Preventive Conservation Section, said during a Jan. 16 session to critique the LC-AOC response to the snow emergency.
She praised the response of both the Library Police, who kept around-the-clock watch for water leaks and reported them quickly to Preservation staff on emergency call, and the AOC. Throughout the storm, AOC staff traced leaks to their sources, diverted leaking water around books into buckets, draped shelves with plastic and vacuumed floors to stanch the flow of water to lower decks.
"We didn't stop the leaks, but we tried to prevent damage by constructing sheet metal troughs to collect the water and direct it into buckets," said Glenn Marshall, the AOC's general foreman for maintenance at the Library. AOC crews also dismantled walls to determine water routes.
The AOC has hired a roofing contractor, who now is on the job and making preparations for subcontractors to replace the roof, Mr. Marshall said. However, a storm such as last week's, with dry snow that blows into seams, cracks and air vents, still may cause leaks, even with a new roof, Mr. Marshall warned the emergency-response team at its Jan. 16 meeting.
The first leak alert occurred at 6:0 p.m. Monday, Jan. 8, when Officer Charles Hales found water running from Deck 7 down through Decks 8, 9 and 0. Ms. Hamburg's beeper sounded at 7:0 p.m., and she and her husband, who had dug out their Bethesda, Md., driveway earlier in the day, drove in to the Library, arriving at 8:5 p.m. Assisted by Library police, they removed about 15 books that were getting wet, cleared areas in which water was dripping, and toured the entire area with three AOC staffers. Ms. Hamburg got home about midnight.
On Tuesday, Jan. 9, Officer W.B. Gaddy, who got up at a.m. at his Herndon, Va., home to be sure to get to work before his second watch shift began at 5:0 a.m., spotted a leak in Deck 10 at 10:18 a.m. After alerting Preservation and the AOC, he removed about 80 books to safety in book carts.
"Water was dripping in a steady stream through the ceiling onto the books," he said.
On that day, Ms. Hamburg came in again, toured all the decks where leaks had occurred, recovered two books from Deck 10, and made sure that the AOC would continue to monitor and clean up trouble spots.
On Thursday, Jan. 11, Officer F.L. Sanfilippo found a leak on Deck 28, where there was no damage to the collections, and staff reported a leak over a photocopier on the Madison Building's fifth floor. A quiet weekend followed.
During their Jan. 16 critique, members of the emergency response team concluded they needed floor maps showing leak histories so they can try to protect collections before leaks occur; training of Collections Management Division staff on where the danger areas are and what to do if leaks occur; training of Preservation staff on how to find their way around the deck mazes; and communication devices to link Preservation staff with Library Police.
ITS Staff Sleeps Over
A handful of computer applications staffers in Information Technology Services (ITS) kept the data center up and running during the blizzard. The data center has a staff that works in three shifts to cover 2 hours a day, seven days a week. Normally, each shift consists of three to six staffers depending on the day.
Jean Denis, assistant supervisor of the second shift of computer operations, arrived at LC at p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 6, before the snow storm hit, with plans to stay the night for his shift. Kevin White, supervisor of the third shift, and Larry Carr, senior computer operator for the third shift, arrived at 11 p.m. Saturday. Driving a storm-worthy truck from more than 20 miles away in Virginia, Merle Phillips, supervisor of the second shift, arrived at noon, Sunday, Jan. 7.
None left until 8 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 9.
Anticipating they would be stranded at LC, they brought in sleeping bags and bedded down on the floor. Extra food they brought did not sustain them, and on Monday and Tuesday, they ventured out to nearby restaurants.
By Thursday, Jan. 11, ITS returned to normal staff operations, but with a second storm forecast for Friday, the emergency staff was called in again. Buries Nivens, senior computer operator of the third shift, and Mr. Carr had a tough time getting into town on Thursday night. They were joined by Toni Harris, assistant supervisor of the first shift, and Ron Meekins, senior computer operator of the first shift, on Friday morning.
According to Henry Johnson, group leader for computer operations, all staffing was normal by midnight, Friday, Jan. 12, and no computer problems were encountered during the week.
Tom Littlejohn, senior systems programming specialist, did not have to come in, thanks to technology. He dialed in periodically during hte week to the RS6000s--the computers responsible for LC MARVEL, the Web servers and all Internet applications--to see if the system was functioning properly or there was any congestion. "Everything was running fine," he said. Reader Services Maintained
The La Follette Congressional Reading Room remained open throughout the week, and Congressional Research Service relied on an emergency snow crew of staffers who live on Capitol Hill to provide service to Congress. They were Congressional Reference Division staffers Donna Scheeder, Holly Massimilla, Betsy Reifsnyder, Linwood Carter, Vanessa Cieslack and Felicia Kolp, who in some permutation over the course of the week staffed the reading room and took more than 550 phone and in-person inquiries. By Wednesday, Jan. 10, congressional staffers began to come in, and on Thursday alone, when the government was open, there were 51 in-person inquiries.
The CRS Inquiry Section was not staffed on Monday or Tuesday. On Wednesday, Robert Newlen, head of the Inquiry Section, Elena Stamoulis, information specialist, and Russell Ball, information specialist, came in and processed a heavy volume of requests. According to Mr. Newlen, most requests came from district and state offices that were unaffected by the blizzard. On Thursday, the office operated as usual, and on Friday, Mr. Newlen and Mr. Ball returned and handled the workload.
"They were real troopers [Ball and Stamoulis]," said Mr. Newlen. "This kind of performance shows the dedication of the staff to serve Congress."
There were also other employees who staffed the research divisions.
Margaret Whitlock, director of law library services, summoned Robert Gee, chief of public services for the law library, who lives on Capitol Hill, from a vacation in order to staff the Law Library Reading Room on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Mr. Gee alone ensured that service was uninterrupted and handled the many requests from congressional constituents and CRS staff.
Congress adjourned on Friday, Jan. 12, when the Law Library Reading Room closed, but it reopened on Saturday for the public. Ms. Whitlock kept in touch with Law Librarian Rubens Medina from home to discuss reading room operations.
Legal Reference Specialists Pamela Craig and Nancy Wynn, along with Senior Legal Information Technician Specialists Hank Corbel, L.J. Cunningham, Rachel Montgomery and Alvin Wallace, staffed the reading room on Saturday along with Mr. Gee and Ms. Whitlock.
"We had 100 percent attendance of scheduled staff on Saturday," Ms. Whitlock said. "They made a remarkable effort to get in here despite adverse conditions." The Library's Thin Blue Line
A winter storm demands that Library Police officers come to work to secure the buildings and ensure the safety of other staffers who are on the job. "The real story here is that the police managed to get in here during the height of the storm. We are expected to have 2-hour-a-day protection for these buildings and the staff who are on duty," said Michael Shelley, acting director for protective services.
"We had a holiday-size crew, which is about half the normal size, during the time that the buildings were closed, Jan. 8-10 and 12," Capt. Parker said. "Some people, who were not needed, came in to ensure we would be covered, and we sent them home. Others got stuck here in the storm, and some volunteered to stay beyond their shifts to guarantee coverage if others couldn't make it in."
