NATCHEZ &8212; The bookstore at the Natchez Visitor Reception Center is currently closed to the public. Officially, it needed new carpet. But the reasons for new flooring vary.

Recently, employees noticed a musty smell that might have been caused by mold or mildew, Natchez National Historical Park Superintendent Kathleen Jenkins said.

The NNHP has offices in the building and has an agreement with a private company to run the bookstore.

The bookstore was closed Friday, and the carpet was taken out Wednesday. The last of the carpet glue was being scraped up Thursday.

Meanwhile, a temporary bookstore will be set up in the center&8217;s lobby using portable shelves.

The 8-year-old building has always had leaks, Jenkins said, and it has a history of problems with its heating and cooling systems leaking.

Recently, the musty smell was traced to the bookstore carpet, but Jenkins said she did not know if it was caused by the carpet, if the cooling system was gathering materials or if the problem had another source.

No matter what, the carpet had to be replaced, she said.

&8220;We&8217;ve had several people with reoccurring illnesses, and the bookstore manager is ill,&8221; Jenkins said Thursday.

An environmental company took air samples earlier this week from inside the building and outside, she said. If the inside samples have more organisms than the outside air, the center would then have a problem, she said. The company also took samples from the merchandise.

&8220;We don&8217;t&8217; know if it&8217;s the air system, we don&8217;t know if we have a problem until we get the results,&8221; Jenkins said.

She said it could take seven to 10 days to get the results.

&8220;Hopefully we don&8217;t have anything bad,&8221; she said.

Jenkins pointed out areas of the building that she said do not drain properly and areas where the ground had washed away from the building.

&8220;That&8217;s not what you want to have when you build on the edge of a bluff,&8221; she said.

City Engineer David Gardner said the erosion was minor and would not contribute to leaks or instability.

&8220;That&8217;s just some superficial erosion we&8217;ve had off and on ever since we built the building,&8221; Gardner said. &8220;The building is on the edge of a bank, and it&8217;s typical of land around Adams County. We go in there about every summer and fix it &8212; it&8217;s nothing that contributes to leaks.&8221;

Tourism Director Walter Tipton said there was probably not a large amount of mold or mildew in the building.

&8220;The carpet&8217;s been there for eight years now,&8221; Tipton said. &8220;We see 200,000 people a year go through there, so it was time to replace the carpet, anyway.&8221;

He also said only one person went home sick, and that was because she was &8220;very susceptible to allergens.&8221;

&8220;There&8217;s not anybody out because of the carpet in the bookstore,&8221; Tipton said. &8220;There&8217;s a lot of speculation there.&8221;

Tipton said there have indeed been leaks in the building, but mold and mildew probably did not cause the smell of which employees complained a couple weeks ago.

&8220;One smell some people remember is when the air conditioning changes to heat,&8221; he said. &8220;When that happens, sometimes you&8217;ll get an odor.&8221;

Because of south Mississippi&8217;s humid climate, mold and mildew are everywhere, Tipton said, but he said he did not think the incident was a big problem.

&8220;I think that if we replace the carpet that&8217;s due to be replaced anyway and check the humidity levels in that area, it will probably resolve any concerns there are,&8221; he said. &8220;I&8217;m not overly concerned.&8221;