The downstairs meeting room at the Butler Area Public Library is unavailable while the building's elevator awaits repair. Eddie Trizzino/Butler Eagle

The elevator at the Butler Area Public Library broke early this year, causing difficulty for some to get to the second floor and the basement. Some of the library’s activities have had to be rescheduled or retooled as a result.

While some basement talks and events have been hindered, like the Friends of the Library’s spring book sale, the library’s director, Lori Hinderliter, said administrators are planning to host events in different ways or in different places this summer.

“We’re trying to think out of the box on how we can provide some programming around the elevator situation,” Hinderliter said. “Because of that we are going out into the community much more this summer. We probably have more events than we normally would, but a lot of them are going to be off-site.”

According to Peter Bess, assistant director of the Butler Area Public Library, the main hydraulic jack of the elevator has been unusable since Feb. 28. Hinderliter said the part that is broken had an initial waiting period of up to 67 days to replace, but it has taken even longer.

Bess said Schindler Elevator is the company the library contracts with for elevator needs. The company ordered a custom piece to repair the elevator, and will come to the site to perform maintenance once it arrives.

The library normally hosts adult programming in its basement, so it being inaccessible for some of the events’ target audience is cause for rescheduling, Hinderliter said.

Instead, some events will be hosted in the library’s outdoor courtyard, and there will be a children’s story time in Diamond Park at 10:30 a.m. on June 25. Hinderliter said the library will release a list of summer events June 4. The list will appear in the Butler Eagle.

The library’s upper floor is home of its nonfiction section, its genealogy department and other archived materials. Hinderliter said the library staff is available to help people retrieve materials from the second floor, and all someone has to do is ask.

“If someone comes in and they’re not able to do the stairs, the staff is more than happy to get the items for them,” Hinderliter said. “If that is discouraging people from coming to get books, we can help them out.”

For more information about the library’s programming, visit its website at butlerlibrary.info.

The elevator at the Butler Area Public Library, pictured on Tuesday, May 28, has been out of order since February. Eddie Trizzino/Butler Eagle

The Butler Area Public Library's elevator hydraulics are in need of repair, causing programs to be moved or rescheduled because of accessibility issues. Submitted photo