The Rose Main Reading Room at The New York Public Library’s main branch will remain closed until 2017, after inspectors discovered asbestos while fixing structural damage.
In May 2014, a plaster rosette fell from the ceiling, and the room along with the Bill Blass Public Catalog Room has been shut since for repairs. The library recently revealed the latest status including that they discovered asbestos “in a closed attic above the Rose Main Reading Room.” Here is more from the library’s website update:
Asbestos is commonly found in many older buildings in New York. While we have since removed that asbestos, an examination of the ceiling of the McGraw Rotunda revealed asbestos above the ceiling in an area not accessible to the public or staff, the removal of which is in progress.
The library plans to reopen the Bill Blass Public Catalog Room by fall 2016 and the Rose Main Reading Room by early 2017.