Posted: Friday, February 08, 2008 at 11:17 a.m.

URBANA, ILL. (AP) -- Mold has infested the University of Illinois' rare book library, and officials say clean-up efforts will force it to close for several months.

University officials say about 15,000 books have visible mold, and that number could go higher.

Librarian Tom Teper says the 300,000-book collection in the Rare Book & Manuscript Library is worth more than $1 billion. It includes the papers of Carl Sandburg, H.G. Wells and many others.

Library officials say they'll shut it down on February 25th so the books, shelves and ventilation system can be cleaned. That cleanup could cost as much as $800,000.

The rare book library is slated to reopen on May 5th.
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