25,000 books fall off shelves at Indiana St.

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Indiana State University's library reopened Friday after rows of shelves tumbled over like dominoes, scattering 25,000 books.

The Cunningham Memorial Library was closed after Wednesday's accident so that workers could move the fallen books and shore up the shelves in the second-floor section. Though it reopened on Friday, it is expected to take weeks to put the books back in place.

The crash started when an empty shelving unit fell over after student workers undid a bracket that hold the shelves together, said Alberta Comer, the library's dean.

She said three student workers suffered some scratches in the accident.

Representatives of a shelving company are to inspect the area before books are returned.

"We're 99 percent sure this was a fluke, but we're certainly not going to take a chance," Comer said.

Books fell from about six rows stretching about 20 feet, said Betsy Hine, the library's associate dean.

The books have been moved to another part of the library and the damaged section roped off until it is put back together Ã¢â‚¬â€ť a priority with the 10,500-student school's fall semester starting Aug. 25.

"Its going to take a while, but we hope to have everything straighten out by the time school starts," Hine said.