By Jim Newell
Managing Editor
jnewell@mihomepaper.com
ORION TWP. — The Orion Township Public Library announced to patrons that it would be closed until further notice after an electrical fire on May 4.
“Due to a small electrical fire on Saturday, May 4, the Orion Township Public Library Main Branch building is closed for the next several weeks. Thank you to the heroic staff (and a very courageous patron!) who responded to the incident quickly and decisively,” the library wrote in an email to patrons about the incident.
“We are lucky that no one was harmed and that the building experienced minimal damage. During the next few weeks, we will be closed to ensure our facilities and materials are clean and cleared of smoke from the incident. While the library building itself will be closed, we will continue to offer the services we are able,” the notification continued.
The library staff had planned to continue curbside pickup services for patrons, but suspended that service on May 8.
“With an abundance of caution, we will unfortunately need to suspend our curbside services while we await environment test results from within our building. We will resume as soon as we have verified the safety of our process,” the notification stated.
The library’s Orion Center Branch will remain open during usual business hours, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The library will be performing a scheduled system update the morning of May 15. Patrons will be unable to access account information during this time, and online resources, including Libby and Hoopla, will also be unavailable.
Updates on when the library will potentially reopen will be posted on the library’s website, lakeorionlibrary.org, and through email updates to patrons who have signed up for library notifications.
Guest who had planned to attend events at the library are advised to visit the website to see if the library has reopened, or has made other arrangements.