The catalyst for the renovation was a devastating arsonfire on April 29, 1986. Although the building was safely evacuated, its vintage construction precluded the ventilation of heat and smoke, and limited firefighter access. It took firefighters over seven hours to extinguish the fire and little fires continued to sprout for several days.[15] Some 400,000 volumes—20 percent of the library's holdings—were destroyed, with significant water and smoke damage done to the surviving works, of which 700,000 were damaged by water or smoke.[16][17] The estimated cost for replacing the 400,000 works lost was over $14 million.[18] A second fire, on September 3 of the same year, destroyed the contents of the music department reading room.
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