VALDOSTA — Valdosta’s man public library will be out of commission for about a year after a storm-related roof collapse caused extensive damage.

The Willis L. Miller Library, located on Julia Drive, was closed after damage from Hurricane Helene caused the adult nonfiction corner of the building to collapse and the roof to cave in, a statement from the South Georgia Regional Library System said. The Miller Library serves as SGRL’s headquarters for library operations in Lowndes, Lanier and Echols counties.

The entire building was flooded. “There wasn’t an inch of flooring without water on it,” said Leslie Partridge, SGRL’s director of marketing, outreach and cataloging.

Roughly 1,000 books were lost due to the storm damage, she said.

The library’s statement said the building will be closed for about a year as repairs are made.

Administrative offices have been moved to an office building near the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts on North Patterson Street, while many of the building’s staff have been transferred to other library branches, Partridge said,

Many library programs have been transferred to the new McMullen Southside Library, she said.