By KWMU
St. Louis, MO – There have now been two fires in two weeks at the Julia Davis Library Branch, at Natural Bridge and Newstead in north City.
The first fire last month caused little damage outside the building. But early Thursday someone broke in and set a gasoline fire that set off the sprinklers.
The fire didn't hurt any books, but all that water did. St. Louis Public Library officials say the Davis branch will be closed for a few days for clean up.
Library officials say the fire was set in an area of building known as the Julia Davis African-American Studies Center, which features a collection of African-American history.
"This sickening and cowardly attack affects the thousands of children and adults who use Julia Davis for story time, summer reading, schoolwork, career work, entertainment, or research," said Waller McGuire, the library system's executive director, in a statement.
The current Julia Davis Branch opened in 1993. It's one of the four largest Library Branches in St. Louis.