Tomás de Iriarte Library Still Closed 74 Days After Flood

The Tomás de Iriarte public library in Puerto de la Cruz has been flooded. According to the Puerto de la Cruz City Council, a broken pipe caused the flood, which stopped the library from opening on August 25th. The library had been closed for its usual August inventory and cleaning. Now, 74 days later, it's still closed with no clear date for reopening. Currently, people can only return books they borrowed.

Juan Pedro Marrero, a member of the reading club and a long-time library user, says a water tank above the building overflowed the weekend before the planned opening. This caused "a constant rain inside the library," and he estimates about 400 books were damaged.

Marrero explained that the water damaged the library's false ceilings and electrical system. Because of this, "the elevator is not working, everything is full of mold, and the ceilings are bulging and could collapse at any time."

Currently, an employee is there to accept returns of the few books still out. However, they "cannot issue a new book because they cannot go up to the second or third floor," where the main collection of books is kept. While "absolutely nothing can be used" right now, Marrero added, "it did not affect everything," offering a glimmer of hope.

Due to strong dissatisfaction among users, questions were raised again with the city council, even at the recent Periplo festival in Puerto de la Cruz. Marrero said the council told them, "this is a very, very, very slow process. It is delicate because the relationships established between the library and its readers are like an umbilical cord."

The last statement issued by the Puerto de la Cruz City Council on the matter was on September 15th. In it, they stated that "this is a consequence of years of neglect of the facilities, and we promise to fix this immediately."