The Chemung Valley History Museum in Elmira, New York, where people flocked for genealogical research and historic anecdotes, was closed nearly two years ago when the floor began to buckle under the weight of its history.
Now, the library will reopen in September, thanks to a grant from The Community Foundation of the Elmira-Corning Area, which gave the historical society $30,000 to reinforce the floor and make the library safe to use again, said Amy Wilson, the director.
Time, gravity and pressure played a role in the library’s sinking stature that led Wilson to close the research room in June 2004, followed by the library itself in January 2005.
“The Community Foundation preserves legacies in charitable ways and the historical society is preserving our historical heritage,” said Suzanne Lee, president of the Community Foundation.
“If you don’t have a library, then you don’t have a place to preserve that history and legacy.”
The $30,000 grant, a fairly large grant for the Community Foundation, according to Lee, will cover most of the estimated $36,000 in costs to reinforce the second-floor library where the society houses its heaviest collection, Wilson said.
From the May 14, 2006 edition of the Star-Gazette.
