Van Pelt Library closed Monday and Tuesday due to flooding, power outage

This is a developing story. It was last updated at 7 p.m. on Monday.

Van Pelt Library will remain closed on Tuesday due to flooding in the building, the cause of which is currently unclear. 

According to a service alert on the Penn Libraries website, the building is currently out of power, and the building will be closed on Tuesday after initially closing for all of Monday. The website said that other libraries on Penn's campus are open, and online resources are still accessible. The alert was first published Monday and was updated to reflect that the building will be closed for Tuesday as well. 

"More details will be provided when available," the alert read. "Apologies for the inconvenience."

Students reported that the Jaffe History of Art Building was also closed due to a power outage, and some students told The Daily Pennsylvanian that Hill College House experienced a short, temporary power outage around 11:55 p.m. last night. Students at Du Bois College House reported similar experiences.

“I didn’t hear the news about [the closure] from Van Pelt,” College first year Sarah Yi, a student worker at Van Pelt, told the DP.

This closure comes after various other temporary building closures that have occurred throughout the semester.

On Feb. 27, Houston Market closed for around five hours as a result of a water main break on Spruce Street. During the water break, bathrooms in Houston Hall did not have running water either. Later that same day, a steam leak at Holman Biotech Commons forced people inside the building to evacuate, canceling classes and exams taking place inside for the day.

“I’m not surprised with the maintenance of the buildings here,” Yi said. “Everything is constantly under construction, renovation, or simply run down.”

In 1991, a malfunctioning air conditioner flooded the fourth and fifth floors of Van Pelt, soaking over 14,000 books. The building took over a month to recover.