The Anchorage library branch in the Mountain View neighborhood is temporarily closed after a tractor-trailer crashed into it over the weekend.
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At around 2:15 a.m. Saturday, Anchorage police say a sedan was traveling south on North Bragaw Street when it collided with a tractor-trailer heading west on Mountain View Drive at the intersection. Police say both vehicles hit a wall at the Mountain View Library.
Anchorage Public Library Assistant Director Elizabeth Nicolai said a portion of the wall caved in, spreading glass and other bits of the wall inside the building.
“The library’s building has been cleared structurally,” Nicolai said, “but there are several other things going on, and we’re waiting for some other departments to clear those things and to restore some functions before we can re-open it.”
Nicolai said the library will be closed at least through this week as crews conduct assessments of the building. At this point, only the external book return is in use.
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Nicolai said Mountain View has one of the more popular branches of the Anchorage library in the municipality, and community members are eagerly awaiting its reopening.
“They’re heavily used for both their Wi-Fi and computer access, as well as a great place for the families and the neighborhood,” she said. “And so I know we have heard already from their community how much they are going to miss their library until we are able to reopen it.”
Nicolai said library users can call the main helpline at (907) 343-2975 for questions regarding holds at the Mountain View branch.
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Police say the driver of the sedan was brought to a hospital for treatment.