UNC-Chapel Hill library in dire straits

RALEIGH, N.C., March 4 (UPI) -- The Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill is facing an uncertain future due to budget constraints, a college official says.

University librarian Sarah Michalak said with North Carolina cutting university funding, there is little hope the funds needed to retrofit the historical site will be available in the future, the Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer said Wednesday.

"It's looking pretty bleak," Michalak said. "They just feel Wilson is one of the most unsafe buildings on campus. And we don't have the money."

At least 60 percent of the Wilson Library's usable space has already been deemed unsafe due to site conditions. A state fire code official said those areas would remain closed off until new exterior stairwells and a sprinkler system are added to the site.

The cost to begin such retrofitting efforts is estimated to be at least $10 million.

The 300,000-square-foot library was built in 1929 at the Chapel Hill university and underwent two major additions in 1952 and 1977, the News & Observer said.