And patrons can begin again to use the services at The Lakewood Memorial Library, at 12 W. Summit Ave.

After closing in February due to discovering several leaks, the library renovations are complete, and it reopened to the public Sept. 8.

Shannon Taylor, library director, said the cause of the leak was penetration onto the roof from the previous improper installation of an HVAC unit in 2008. The library switched to a ductless split system in which there will no HVAC units on the roof.

At the end of August, members of the Southwestern Central School football team and National Honor Society members helped bring back order to the library.

Shelves of books are covered in plastic and a ladder was used to inspect the water leaks that caused water damage in February at The Lakewood Memorial Library. Submitted photo

“They were phenomenal from the ones (students) within the National Honor Society going and helping us shelf the books and helping us move shelves in the library to the football team bringing those boxes of books back,” Taylor said.

The librarian said the task, what would have taken the library staff several days to complete, was finished in about six hours.

Team members moved more than 700 boxes of books.

“They made them look light,” she added. “But a box full of books — it’s very heavy.”

Taylor noted previously that the football team worked together as an assembly line to transport the books from the storage facility to the vehicles. They also worked as an assembly line taking books from the vehicles to the library.

Southwestern Football Coach Jake Burkholder added the library officials had contacted team members to see if they would be interested in moving books from the storage facility to the library. Burkholder noted the volunteer experience helped each of the members learn the value of teamwork.

“And they were just in a good mood the whole day and joking and just lifting the spirits of all of us here from having such a long stressful experience through this, to have them just come in white and all of our moods. It was wonderful,” Taylor said.