The Great 1913 Flood

Web Site Translation

	Catalog cards at the Dayton Public Library after the 1913 Flood. Water filled the basement of the main building and rose to four feet on the main floor. Most of the card catalogs, all of the shelf lists and official records in offices and departments were inundated, but saved by the heroic efforts of library staff.
	Library exterior after the 1913 Flood. Other libraries in the Miami Valley suffered serious losses. Among them were the Piqua and Hamilton libraries and a special library collection at the Dayton Leiderkranz-Turner.
	The Library's Work Room after the 1913 Flood. After mud was sufficiently hoed and sprayed off the floors and shelves, staff stood books up to dry in every clean spot all over the main floor. Materials and books were also taken to the county recorder's office and a barn four miles away to dry.
	Stack Room in west basement after the 1913 Flood. Several staff members were marooned on an upper floor for fifty-four hours without food or drink, before they were rescued by boat.
	Book shelves after the 1913 Flood. On the main floor the flood waters ruined nearly all of the reference books, portions of all the periodical sets, and 20,000 circulating books. The total book loss was over 45,000 volumes, almost half of the library's book collection.

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