Minnesota’s Waseca Public Library will be closed during upcoming asbestos removal and renovations. The library will be closed off for a three-week period, running from July 30 through August 23. The library is undergoing improvements, including the removal of asbestos-laden floor tiles, and the installation of new carpeting.

Despite the fact that the library will be closed, librarians are encouraging local residents to keep reading. The Waseca Public Library Director has issued a statement to library card holders, stating that "None of the books or library materials will be due while we’re closed, so check out as many items as you need to last you over that time, and bring them back when we reopen again." Books can also be renewed or held online.

Removing asbestos is a time-consuming, expensive, and important step in many renovation projects in older buildings all across America. Asbestos removal is expensive and time-consuming because of the elaborate precautions that must be taken to prevent airborne asbestos fibers from traveling on the air to other areas of the building, through the building’s ventilation systems, or into the open air outside of the structure. Asbestos fibers can be easily inhaled by workers, building employees, or neighbors. The tiny fibers, once inhaled, become permanently embedded in the soft tissues of the body.

These asbestos fibers are present in older buildings, particularly in building materials like tiles, adhesives, cements, insulation, and fireproofing materials. Inhaling asbestos fibers poses a serious health risk, as asbestos has been linked to the eventual development of asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma.