In Bisbee, Arizona, the Copper Queen Library, founded in 1882, is 114 years old — and it shows.

The library, on the National Register of Historic Places, a hub for Brisbee families, has a leaky roof, and cracks in the facade. The ceiling in the young adult room collapsed recently, forcing the room to close for three weeks.

“You can follow the story of Bisbee through the story of our library, because we’ve been here all along,” said library manager Jason Macoviak.

The Copper Queen is at the center of community life: From hosting an event every Halloween for the community to bringing fairytales to life; to creating a separate room for teens — until the ceiling collapsed and the room had to be closed for a time.

“That is the hardest demographic to reach,” said Macoviak. “We lost that engagement for a bit.”

Hundreds of library buildings in the U.S. are more than 100 years old and are in dire condition, according to a recent report from the American Library Association which estimates many of the nation’s 17,000 libraries need $32 billion dollars for construction and renovation.

During the pandemic many libraries across the country became lifelines for residents, providing everything from Wi-Fi from parking lots, notary services and curbside crafts projects for kids.

Though the average age of a library building is more than 40 years old, there has not been dedicated federal infrastructure funding since 1997.

As a result the buildings are plagued with old wiring, plumbing, leaky roofs, malfunctioning fire alarms and sprinklers, the report found. Because of the old wiring, they often lack internet access. At current funding levels it would take 25 years for the work to get done, the report found.

Read the full article about upgrading library infrastructure by Cheryn Hong at The 74.