The council said the carpet’s age and damage from water which entered the building during a storm on Tuesday meant the floor covering could not be repaired, despite attempts to dry it out.

Tradesmen will work through the weekend to replace the carpet, which will set back the opening date by up to a week.

Council’s director of community development Debra Mudra said the overall cost of the damage was not yet known.

“We think a ball park figure of 1000 books lost in the storm, predominantly art, history and lifestyle,” Ms Mudra said.

“We are doing up our inventories to figure out the cost of that loss.

“There were also a couple of computers and a playstation damaged.”

Wodonga Council has organised alternative services during the library’s closure.

Staff will be at the TAFESpace from 10am to 4pm on weekdays to allow people to pick up reserved items.

However, there will be no new borrowings.

Avid readers can head to the Little Free Libraries book exchange, also at TAFESpace, where they can drop off unwanted books and pick up something new to read for free.

Gateway Health has stepped in to offer public access to computers from 9am to 5pm on weekdays.

There is a two-hour time limit for this service and patrons should bring their own headphones.

Printing will not be available and USBs are prohibited.

Storytime sessions will now be held at The Cube, and the library’s online services can be found under the “Library 24/7” tab on the website.

The returns chute remains closed and people are being encouraged to hold onto items, free of charge, until the library reopens.

Ms Mudra said the council was doing its best to provide critical services in a different way.

“We are really going to be working as hard as we can to get the library back online so the community can start using it again,” she said.

“We thank the community for their patience while we go through replacing and getting it ready to start up again.”