SCITUATE - Due to flooding in the basement, the Local History collection at North Scituate Public Library is unavailable until further notice, Director Leslie B. McDonough announced on Tuesday afternoon.

"The collection was not damaged, but is currently in storage until the floor in the basement is replaced," McDonough said in a press release.

The library's special collection of local historical materials contains "irreplaceable" records of Scituate history, she said.

"These items are often fragile and because of their format, age, and value require great care in their storage and handling," she continued. "Irreplaceable parts of the collection should never be stored in an area of a building that is vulnerable to water damage, yet we have no other space to put them, beyond a few locked shelves in the reference room."

The remaining local history materials are shelved in a basement room "that is extremely vulnerable to water damage and that has only primitive climate control."

The library is currently raising funds for a building renovation/addition project, which includes plans to properly store the Local History collection in a climate controlled area of its own.