Smithtown library, devastated in flood, reopens lower level

The lower level of the Smithtown Library's main branch — closed for nearly two years after a devastating flood — reopened to the public Thursday, marking a major milestone in the facility's renovation.

The lower level previously housed more than 21,000 audiovisual materials including CDs and DVDs, as well as a learning lab, study areas and a community room. It also included the Long Island Room, where historical artifacts from the Island’s and Smithtown’s past were stored. The library collected the materials over the years since opening in 1907, Newsday has reported. 

A storm on Aug. 19, 2024, dropped 10 inches of rain along the North Shore of Suffolk County and brought in a wall of water that burst through one of the windows of the library's lower level, causing severe damage to historical documents and equipment. The storm forced the library to close for nine months and caused $21 million in damage.

In October, the branch reopened its second floor. The library has remained under renovation, funded by a $16.5 million bond referendum that voters approved a year ago. 

As library director Rob Lusak and assistant director Eileen Caulfield stood in the newly renovated lower level Thursday, Lusak reflected on how far the library has come since the flood.

“It was a catastrophic event. We had lost everything. Every square inch of this building and this lower level was affected,” he said. “We’ve made lots of improvements as far as safeguarding measures … so now if heavy rains were to come down like they did last week, we’re very confident the building can withstand any Mother Nature elements.”

Full renovations to the library are expected to be completed in late September, according to Lusak.

More space for patrons

The lower level’s upgrades were designed with an emphasis on creating more space for patrons to read and study, as requested in a survey that the library issued prior to renovations, according to Caulfield.

“We really put a lot of thought into having this last for a very long time,” Caulfield said. "Once we got over the horrible catastrophe, we started thinking, 'What are we going to put down here?'"

The library is moving the Long Island Room to the upper level, allowing for more quiet study rooms, while adding a new study space for Literacy Suffolk, a Bellport volunteer organization that works with adults seeking to improve their English speaking, reading and writing skills.

The library also added new technology to its community room, government services room and LearnLab. The latter features new 3D printing machines, a laser engraver and other upgrades.

The improvements to the lower level also include flood-proof windows.

The reopened community room has storage space for equipment that will help hearing-impaired patrons listen to presentations and movies; a state-of-the-art audiovisual system to monitor the library; and other features.

Making the library 'foolproof' 

The remaining repairs include two areas in the main floor and a section in the upper level.

Annette Galarza, president of the Smithtown Public Library board of trustees, said it felt "amazing" to have the lower level completed and open to the public again. 

"The storm happened, some things you can't control, but it gave us the opportunity to foolproof the library, and hopefully the library will be around for a very long time," she said.

Members of the Smithtown Book Club — comprised of seniors who had met monthly in the library's community room — have spent months since the flood meeting at the library's Nesconset branch. Eric Loehwing, 83, of St. James, the club's moderator, said most of the members he's spoken with are in favor of returning to the more centrally located main branch, which is on North County Road.

"Most of our membership comes from the north side of our township," Loehwing said. "It will be easier for members to travel to the meetings."