The Makawao Public Library reopened last week after wind and rain from last month’s storm brought down some ceiling tiles and forced a temporary closure of the branch.

Staff noted the damage from the storm on Jan. 28, when rain and wind caused “tiles to come down near the public service desk, making it unsafe for public access,” Makawao Branch Manager Dakota Cotton said Wednesday. The library continued to offer public services at the front door until the Department of Accounting and General Services completed work on the ceiling above the circulation desk early on the morning of Feb. 6.

“We reopened for normal service that day,” Cotton said.

Mallory Fujitani, special assistant to the state librarian, said Tuesday that temporary repairs were made to the roof of the Makawao library and would be tested during the anticipated stormy weather this weekend.

Cotton said Wednesday that “we are certainly keeping an eye on the roof given the ongoing threat of high winds and rain,” but pointed out that the rain has been good so far even with the recent heavy rains Upcountry.

The Makawao library is one of six branches on Maui. The Hawaii State Public Library System has 51 branches, including one each on Molokai and Lanai.

Another branch on Maui, the Kahului Public Library, remains shuttered with no opening date in sight.

The library closed back in August 2020 for renovations. Plans included replacing the air-conditioning system, ceiling panels, improvements to lighting throughout the building and other interior improvements, the state librarian’s office said at the time.

The work was scheduled to be finished in mid-2021, though the state said the pandemic could delay the completion date.

“The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting staffing and supply chain issues that followed continue to delay the completion of the Kahului repairs,” Fujitani said Tuesday. “We are doing all that we can to finish the work and bring this library back online.” 

The Kahului Public Library was designed by Noboru Kobayashi and opened on Feb. 9, 1963, according to the Hawaii State Public Library System’s website, which continues to list the building as “temporarily closed for repairs.”

The state also has long-term plans to improve the Makawao library. Maui state Rep. Kyle Yamashita, whose district includes Upcountry, is securing capital improvement funds for renovation and expansion of the library, including community meeting space. 

This project is currently in the design phase, Fujitani said.

Designed by architect Edwin Murayama, the Makawao Public Library opened on Feb. 22, 1969. For 53 years, the library has provided services to the Makawao community, as well as keiki, families and individuals living in Haliimaile, Pukalani, Haiku and Kula. 

With limited libraries on Maui, some residents have raised concerns about the shuttered branches.

“We need the Kahului Public Library reopened. It’s been closed since first (COVID-19 pandemic) lockdown, three years ago,” Kihei resident Rena Blumberg said in a Maui News letter to the editor last week. “Our children, our students, all our citizens deserve the opportunity to use public libraries.”

In state observance of Presidents Day, all public libraries will be closed on Monday. 

* Dakota Grossman can be reached at dgrossman@mauinews.com.