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     Well, my nice second snow day off was ruined with a 7:30 a.m. phone
     call telling me of a leak on the second floor, found at 1:00 a.m. by
     security folk, with some damage to the Map collections on the first
     floor.
 
     Looks like most of the damage is to relatively new materials [Texas
     backlog], one folder of recent New York City materials.
 
     Tomorrow we willl be closed to the public, and when the staff gets in,
     assuming they can get in,despite the snow storm, we will go about hand
     checking all maps cases and bookshelves and their contents for water
     damage. Today we have covered everything we can with tarps. Because of
     the snowstorm we have no bodies to do anything more.
 
     I think there is a rule somewhere, that you only have floods, leaks,
     etc. in a library, when there is a natural disaster also occuring to
     prevent staff from being there to mop up!
 
     Problem--the water leaks through the ceiling from above, travels along
     light fixtures and beams and drops some distance from the original
     source. Nothing like a puzzle here and there to make my day.
 
     Physically, the place is a mess, with papers, map folders furniture,
     etc. out of place, but right now it looks like a good housecleaning
     will take care of a lot of the mess.
 
     Those of you who have experienced a disaster like this, please email
     me and tell me it will be o.k.!  That, and Jack Daniels, should get me
     through this.
 
     So, Happy 1996 to everybody!
 
     Alice Hudson
     Chief, Map Division, NYPL