"NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) -- The Redwood Library and Athenaeum has stood as a proud vestige of old-world Newport for more than two and a half centuries, but a dramatic scare two years ago threatened the future of the country's oldest lending library."

"Library director Cheryl Helms rushed to the Redwood on the night of Nov. 19, 2003 to find a portion of the ceiling collapsed and thick chunks of plaster on the ground. "

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