MANHATTAN — Kansas State University’s Hale Library suffered significant damage during a fire, according to school officials.

Library dean Lori Goetsch told the Topeka Capital-Journal that the university has contracted with Belfor, an international disaster recovery business, to restore the library following the May 22 blaze.

“They have hundreds of individuals onsite helping us with the process of removing ceiling tiles and other debris, dehumidifying the building and recovering collections,” she said. “It is estimated that it will take more than 30 days to dry out the building.”

The library has extensive water and smoke damage, Goetsch said. The fire was contained to the building’s roof, but hundreds of thousands of gallons of water were used to control the blaze.

The library also contained the university’s data center, and work remains to get the system fully back online. About 90 percent of services and systems were online as of June 4, but only about half of network connections have been repaired, according to a report from the IT department.

Insurance adjusters will need about a month to assess the damage. It’s unclear when the library will reopen.