COVINGTON - The Covington branch of the Newton County Library System is closed after the HVAC unit broke down Friday.

The library will remain closed through Sunday, as a “band aid” fix is made on the air conditioning unit and the building is cooled back down.

Friday morning a loose bearing was heard coming from the building’s HVAC unit, before the pump that circulates water into the system broke later that day.

In June, Newton County approved a loan for the library system to replace the HVAC system but all the funds are yet to come in, and that change has not yet been made. As this is considered a local, maintenance issue by the state, the money for this repair will come out of the library system’s board of trustees’ maintenance budget.

“This particular issue is a band aid fix and it is not included in that,” said Newton County Library Board of Director Chairman Dr. Steve Whatley.

The board has already moved forward to try and get the pump repaired. However a fix won’t be possible until probably Tuesday.

“We would still have to run a couple of days to cool the building down as much as possible before we get back up,” Whatley said.

With the library’s regular closed days being in Sunday and Monday, the Covington branch will not be able to open again until Tuesday, Aug. 25 at the earliest, according to Whatley.

In order to accommodate patrons, returns are still being taken at the Covington branch drop box, the Porter branch and PINES locations. Hold materials will be sent to the Porter branch for pickup through Sunday.