Water, leaking through cracks in the roof, damaged thousands of books on the third floor. Some were rare Tibetan scrolls. Canopies were already up over certain sections of the ceiling, because roofers were doing emergency patching.

"Damage here is manageable. Books did get wet, but it takes time for material, the books to get really soaked and damaged. It's a lucky thing we caught it in time," said Kyle Hamada, Preservation Department.

A UH spokesperson said damage estimates could soar to a quarter of a million dollars.

That's nothing compared to the $45-million mess left behind by major flooding in October of 2005. UH has been planning a major roofing job at Hamilton for years, but it was just put off again until next summer because of a lack of funding.

The estimated cost of the roofing project was $250,000.

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