The temperature gauge on the wall of the second-floor air handler notes a 3 p.m. Tuesday measurement of about 101 degrees. The first-floor temperature was only a few degrees cooler. [Click to enlarge]

"People have been very understanding," said librarian Sharon Simpson. "But it's been getting warmer and people seem to be coming in and leaving sooner than they usually do."

One patron on Tuesday was on one the library's Internet connections with her own electric fan sitting next to the computer blowing air. The first-floor thermostat was pegged above the 85-degree mark. The temperature gauge on the air handler, located on the second floor, measured above 100 degrees.

The library is closed today for repair work on the system.

The problem was noted on Tuesday afternoon last week, when a man alerted Simpson of several inches of water standing in the restroom, and water was dripping down the walls.

The aging air-handling machine on the upper floor of the former post office was found to be the source of the water. The 12-foot-square machine is similar to an air conditioner in that condensation collects in a basin beneath the air handler. It doesn't cool air, but moves air around.

A label on the machine details Rice Seervice Co. in Newbern assembled the structure in November 1965. The year prior, the city had taken possession of the former U.S. Post Office building to use it as a library.

Simpson said an inspection of the basin found the massive collector had rusted almost completely through in places, leaving hundreds of pinholes and tiny spaces for the water to run out. To stop the water, the machine was turned off.

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The air in the building began to warm up.

On Tuesday, with the outside temperature at 90 degrees, the staff closed the library at 3 p.m. A sign on the front door noted "no air."