DC Public Library Services and Facilities:

A Framework for Continuing Success

I. TRANSFORMING DC PUBLIC LIBRARY FOR THE 21ST

CENTURY: A PROCESS WELL UNDERWAY

“The role of libraries in the 21st century is changing. And one of those
changes is that libraries will increasingly be places where people can
meet.” Mayor-elect Vincent C. Gray (2010)

Transforming DC Public Library for the 21st Century…

In 1896 the District of Columbia Public Library was created by an Act

of Congress, in which the purpose of the Library was simply and
clearly stated:

“To furnish books and other printed matter and information

services convenient to the homes and offices of all residents of
the District.”

In 2006, a Blue Ribbon Task Force charged with assessing DC Public

Library‟s strengths, weaknesses and opportunities issued a report
titled A Capital Library for a Capital City: A Blueprint for Change.
That report made two fundamental recommendations:

1) to revitalize DC Public Library’s neighborhood libraries

to meet 21st century opportunities; and
2) to build a new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
“that inspires and empowers.”

DC Public Library: A Framework for Continuing Success is based upon

the dual platform of the 1896 Act of Congress that created it and the
2006 Blue Ribbon Report, which recommended changes needed to
bring it up to date.

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The purpose of this Report is to provide the Mayor and the City
Council with specific recommendations to guide them in future library
services and facilities planning and decision-making. The Board of
Trustees has developed these recommendations in collaboration with
the D.C. Office of Planning and with a team of nationally recognized
library planning consultants1.

The recommendations are based on national and local data

concerning behavioral patterns of library use and the needs of library
users. They draw on current best practices as well as forward-
thinking “next practices” from both within and outside of the library
world.

The body of this Report will summarize and explain the findings that
led to these recommendations.

A Process Well Underway…

While DC Public Library continues to carry out its mission as it was

originally conceived by Congress more than a century ago, in the 21st
century new ways of accomplishing the same mission have evolved.
In a new and ever-changing world of information, DC Public Library
plays an increasingly vital role in the lives of those who live and work
in the District of Columbia; and its importance as a place where
people can meet and communities can grow and thrive continues to
evolve.

With funding made available by DC Mayors and the City Council, the
DC Public Library Board of Trustees has moved to carry out the
recommendations made in the Blue Ribbon report. The
transformation and revitalization of the D.C. public libraries called for
in that Report is well underway.

1
See Appendix I for summary of current and future trends in library planning. Also see
http://www.georgeandjoan.com/

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  LIBRARY SERVICES have been expanded and improved
throughout the system.
o Services to Children, Youth and Teens
 DC Public Library promotes literacy and provides
books and programs for children and their parents
and caregivers, beginning at birth. Programs for the
very young focus on emerging literacy skills and
prepare children for school; work with children,
parents, and educators to promote success for kids
in elementary and middle school; programs like
Teen Read-in and involving teens in program
planning help keep high-school students engaged.
o Ready to Work and Other Workforce Development
Programs
 The award-winning Teens of Distinction program
provides employment for high-school-age D.C.
residents.
 In September 2010, a web portal that provides a
wide range of online training and resources for job
seekers was introduced.
 Adult literacy programs, English language classes
for new Americans, GED preparation and tutoring,
databases of tests for licensing and certification all
support and carry out DC Public Library‟s “ready-to-
work” initiative.
 A 2010 study found that 40 percent of computer
users at DC Public Library used the computers to
research and apply for jobs; and 20 percent
reported that they found jobs as a result.2

2
See Appendix K: U.S. Impact Study: Web Survey Results, University of Washington Information School,
2010 at www.dclibrary.org.

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 o Access to Information and Resources via 21st Century
Technology for all D.C. Residents
 Since 2006 the number of computers for the public
to use in DC Public Library has increased from just
over 100 to about 700.
 There is now free WiFi access, and broadband
capacity, in all libraries.
 Bridging the “digital divide” is a high priority. In
January 2010, a pilot program at the Woodridge
and Francis Gregory libraries provided seniors with
training in computer and Internet use, as well as
with refurbished computers and free robust
broadband access in their homes. This program
served as a model for expanded programs funded
under a $1.5 million American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Broadband Grant, which
will train up to 1,600 D.C. residents and provide
free computers and Internet access to 1,000
participants.
 DC Public Library was the first library in the nation
to offer iPod-compatible audio books and an iPhone
application for library users.
o A Place for People to Meet
 “Clean, safe, and open when scheduled” is the
standard that is now being met.
 All libraries in the system provide community
meeting spaces, and the new libraries have state-
of-the-art gathering spaces.
 LIBRARY FACILITIES have been improved in much of the
system.
o By the end of calendar year 2011, 13 of the 24
neighborhood libraries will have been replaced or
renovated (See Appendix D at www.dclibrary.org).

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The Library has received widespread praise in local and national
press for improvements made since 2006. But the most important
endorsement has been from the people of the District, who
enthusiastically use their libraries in record numbers. System-wide
circulation is up 126 percent since 2006. At the new libraries opened
in 2010, circulation is more than double what it was in the interim
libraries that preceded them, and nearly 14,000 new library cards
were issued at the new libraries in the first few months they were
open. The new libraries have created a positive “buzz” that is
energizing and exciting for the whole community.

A Continuing Process…

Much has been accomplished: yet much remains to be done. The FY

2011 Capital Budget includes no funding for continuing the vital work
of replacing or modernizing the remaining neighborhood libraries—
Capitol View, Chevy Chase, Cleveland Park, Lamond-Riggs,
Northeast, Palisades, Shepherd Park, Southwest, West End and
Woodridge.3 Plans have not been made and funding has not been
identified for the new central library recommended by the Blue
Ribbon Report.

In cities across the nation and around the world, new and revitalized
libraries have been a critical public resource for job seekers and
workforce development as well as an effective engine of urban
development. The Blue Ribbon report‟s call to create a new central
library “to inspire and empower” expresses the potential of DC Public
Library to do the same for the District of Columbia. But it cannot do
this without sufficient funding.

3
West End Library is scheduled to be replaced through the District’s development agreement with
Eastbanc.

DC Public Library Services and Facilities 5

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DC Public Library‟s work with the D.C. Office of Planning through this
planning process, summarized in appendices A and B at dclibrary.org,
has provided a basis for determining how the continuing
transformation of DC Public Library can help foster economic
development in the District while continuing to provide and improve
the essential library services and resources all of its citizens need and
deserve.

“Libraries can play a crucial role in encouraging innovation and

creativity, and DC Public Library can be a key partner in helping to
foster entrepreneurial activity, and in ensuring that all of the District‟s
communities benefit from its growing economic prosperity.” D.C.
Office of Planning (2010)

II. LIBRARY SERVICES IN THE 21ST CENTURY: THE SAME

MISSION, NEW METHODS AND TOOLS

“While some believed the Internet might retire the library, the
reverse has occurred. Over the past decade, libraries have embraced
technology resources, and library visits and circulation have grown by
20 percent. The recession has only increased the demands on the
public library.” Roberta Stevens, President, American Library
Association (2010)

To paraphrase Mark Twain, the reports of the death of the public

library have been greatly exaggerated. In the 21st century, public
libraries are more important, more relevant, and more essential to
our communities than ever before. And while the essential services
provided by libraries have not changed, across the nation and around
the world librarians are finding ways to better serve the public using
new methods and new tools.

This section highlights some of the current and evolving trends in

library services.

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Libraries are focusing on people, not just “stuff.”

Until recently, the primary focus in library facilities planning was as

storehouses for books and other materials. And while this is still an
element in library facilities planning, attention is now being given to
the importance of libraries as gathering places, locations where the
community can come together.

The big, imposing desks that librarians traditionally sat behind are
being replaced with different ways of arranging furniture and space:
and libraries are being designed to encourage and facilitate
collaborative, side-by-side interaction between library staff and library
users.

Libraries help create and sustain healthy communities.

Libraries support “brain health” by providing intellectually stimulating

activities and opportunities for people of all ages.

While there are new formats for reading, reading itself remains a vital
skill, and a skill that libraries continue to promote vigorously through
their services, programs, and resources.

Libraries provide storytelling and other reading-readiness programs

for very young children; they offer homework help, chess clubs and
other intellectually enriching activities for schoolchildren and teens;
help for teens in developing the skills and knowledge they need to
enter college or the workforce; and services, programs and resources
to support literacy and other life skills and enrichment for people of
all ages.

Learning languages, participating in civic discussions, and attending

interesting and challenging programs offered by libraries—everything
from traditional readings and lectures to origami workshops and yoga
sessions—all help keep people creatively, intellectually, and physically
active and independent.

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Libraries are family-friendly destinations.

Libraries have always served children and families, but in the past
children and teens were usually relegated to segregated sections of
the library, sometime even being provided with separate entrances
that would help keep them “neither seen nor heard.”

In today‟s libraries, children and teens are seen, heard, and

welcomed, as are their parents and grandparents, along with all the
other members of the community.

The library is also one of the few places in modern society where
multigenerational activities are promoted and encouraged, and
collaboration across generations happens in the library in a way that
it doesn‟t happen in other places.

The library is a place that welcomes everyone in the community, and

where “the community can be introduced to itself.”4

Libraries are welcoming places.

Comfortable seating, open spaces designed for conversation and

collaborative learning, and amenities such as coffee carts all make
the library a more inviting place, a place that encourages people to
meet, explore and work together.

Libraries provide access to digital technology—tools,

training, and information.

“The future is already here. It‟s just not evenly distributed yet.”
William Gibson

For many people, the public library is the only place where they have
free access to the Internet. As such it is a vital connection to
information and resources that people use to educate themselves,
find jobs, and enrich and improve their lives in a wide variety of

4
George Needham and Joan Frye Williams.

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ways. The public library provides not only access to these tools and
resources, but also valuable education and training in how to use
them.

On the other side of the digital divide, many people no longer need
assistance in accessing information. For library users who are able to
find what they need on their own and prefer to do so, libraries
provide access to library materials remotely, allowing them to get the
information they need whether or not library buildings are open.

Libraries stimulate and promote creativity.

While libraries continue to provide quiet spaces for those who need
them for reading or studying alone, spaces in which people can work
together collaboratively, sharing and creating are increasingly
included in library facilities design.

“Libraries used to be like a supermarket, where you would go to get

the ingredients you need to take home to your kitchen and make
something,” says Joan Frye Williams, library futurist. “Today the
library is becoming more like a kitchen, where „meals‟ can be
prepared and shared in a community setting.”5

Libraries contribute to a healthy economy.

At all times, but especially in times of economic difficulty, libraries are

a critical public resource for workforce development where individuals
who are looking for jobs, changing careers, and developing and
building their professional skills and abilities in a variety of ways can
find the tools, services and resources they need.

Libraries are good for the community at large as well: they support
traditional businesses, and they are also a vital resource for “the new
creatives,” the class of entrepreneurs who are helping to develop and
redevelop urban centers—artists, software developers, musicians,
and other creative workers.

5
www.georgeandjoan.com

DC Public Library Services and Facilities 9

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In addition, libraries support the kind of traffic and offer the high-
tech infrastructure that stimulates economic development in urban
settings. The opening of Chicago‟s Harold Washington Library Center
in the South Loop launched the redevelopment of that formerly
blighted neighborhood. In Salt Lake City, new commercial and
residential building has surrounded the new main library.

III. A “GREAT, GOOD PLACE” FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

“If Washington is truly the capital of the free world in its fullest sense
it needs a capital library that is at least equal—and ideally superior—
to any public library on earth.” A Capital Library for a Capital City: A
Blueprint for Change (2006)

What does a world-class library system look like in the 21st century?

Behavioral data tells us that library buildings need to be built where

people are (not just “where they sleep”). Libraries need to invite
and encourage exploration; they need to offer quiet places to
read and reflect, as well as spaces for shared learning and
collaboration; and they need to provide the public with access to
mainstream technology. Finally, they need to be large enough to
provide space, services and collections to draw the public, and to be
staffed efficiently; flexible enough to accommodate future uses; and
housed in sustainable buildings that respect the earth and
maximize the efficient use of resources.

Library buildings need to be “where people are” (not just

where they sleep)…

Data shows that visits to the library do not always originate from
home, and they often occur in combination with other activities.
People travel to the library from their workplaces and schools; they
visit libraries in the middle of shopping, or while running errands in
the midst of busy lives.

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In general, a good retail location is a good library location. Including
libraries in retail corridors enhances the attractiveness and success of
both the library and the retail business.

Library buildings are being designed to invite exploration…

Transparent exterior walls that allow people passing by to see what‟s

going on inside the library invite the community to come inside and
explore. Such design also allows for the use of natural light, and
creates a more visually interesting environment for people inside the
library.

Libraries need to keep pace with evolving mainstream

technology…

Libraries need to be proactive in finding ways to use current and

evolving technologies to improve library services. Technology is no
longer seen as a special feature, but as an integral element in the
basic work of the library. Library facilities need to be designed in
such a way that this integration can continually evolve with a minimal
need for expensive retrofitting.

Libraries tend to follow technological trends rather than create them.

(Bar codes on books came after bar codes on cans of vegetables.)
And while people don‟t expect their libraries to lead the way in uses
of technology, they do expect them to keep up with mainstream
technology. The time between people saying “I can‟t believe the
library has X,” to the time when they say “I can‟t believe the library
doesn‟t have Y,” is getting shorter and shorter.

Libraries are offering spaces for shared learning and

collaborative creation…

Library “zones” are increasingly being designed to accommodate

types of activities, rather than specific age groups. This makes sense:
a 16-year-old job seeker has more in common with a 60-year-old job
DC Public Library Services and Facilities 11
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seeker than with his 16-year-old peers who may be looking at music
videos or working on school projects with other students. A
storytelling area might offer a place to read picture books to toddlers;
or for elderly people to share their life stories.

Library buildings continue to offer quiet places for people to

read and reflect…

While the days of “Shhh! You‟re in the library!” are a thing of the
past, libraries still need to provide quiet places where people who
want to read, study or just reflect quietly can do so.

Library buildings need to be flexible

While no one knows what changes future technologies will bring;

there will be changes that cannot be predicted that must be
accommodated in the future.

Today‟s libraries are being built to be easily reconfigurable, with few

walls and raised floors. Modular, movable furniture and equipment,
even shelves on wheels, also provide the flexibility needed.

Library buildings need to be large enough to be staffed

efficiently.

Part of the commitment to good stewardship of public funds is that

the library must optimize the return on investment of every dollar. As
at all libraries, staffing is DC Public Library‟s greatest expense: 70
percent of the operating budget.

Library size has a direct bearing on staffing efficiencies: for example,

DC Public Library‟s larger libraries, such as Anacostia, Benning and
Watha T. Daniel/Shaw libraries, support nearly three times the
service per staff member than the smaller locations such as
Parklands-Turner, Deanwood and Northwest One libraries.

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While the larger libraries provide three to five times the books,
computers, and seats; they require only two or three more staff. A
small library may need five staff, while the larger libraries, around
20,000 square feet, require seven or eight.6

Libraries need to provide a “green” model for the

community…

With their emphasis on reuse/return/recycle, libraries have always

been inherently “green”: their book and other library materials can be
used by the whole community, an ecologically sound practice if ever
there were one.

District of Columbia building code requires that all buildings must be

designated at least LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design) Silver by the U.S. Green Building Council. But a desirable
direction for libraries is to move from carbon neutral to carbon
positive; and green operations as well as green buildings should be
the goal and direction of future facilities planning.

6
See Appendix H at www.dclibrary.org.

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IV. THE RECOMMENDATIONS

“One City. One Library.”

DC Public Library has come a long way in its more-than-one-

hundred-year history. And it has come a long way in the past five
years. But much remains to be done.

The purpose of the Library is to enrich and nourish the life of the
mind for all D.C. residents; to provide them with the services and
tools needed to transform lives; and to build and support community
throughout the District of Columbia.

In order to provide all residents of the District with the 21st century
library services they need and deserve, and based on the findings of
the process summarized in this Report, the DC Public Library Board of
Trustees therefore recommends that the Mayor and the City Council:

1. Provide operating funds to protect the District’s

investment in its new and existing buildings, and to
maintain no less than the current level of service for the
neighborhood libraries (six days a week) and for the
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (seven days a
week).

The most wonderful library in the world is of no use if it‟s not open
convenient hours and if there is no staff to provide needed services.

Operating costs include staff, books and other library materials,

technology, maintenance of technology, and building maintenance to
protect the District‟s investment in the library buildings.

Operating funds for any new neighborhood libraries are essential. In

the long view, operations are going to be a bigger expense than the
initial construction costs. This is nothing new: when Andrew
Carnegie gave money for the construction of public libraries, he

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required that the municipality invest 10 percent of construction costs
in operations each year.

2. Fund continuing capital work to keep the promise that

all neighborhood libraries will be ready for the future.

The FY 2011 Capital Budget includes no funding for continuing the

vital work of replacing or modernizing the remaining neighborhood
libraries. The libraries not funded are Capitol View, Chevy Chase,
Cleveland Park, Lamond-Riggs, Northeast, Palisades, Southwest,
Shepherd Park, West End and Woodridge.7

3. Choose locations for new or relocated neighborhood

libraries that are easily visible and convenient to public
transportation (Metro, bus, streetcar), commercial
activity, and schools.
Research has shown that building libraries “where people are”
not just “where they sleep” is the best way to ensure that
people will use this valuable public asset.

The D.C. Office of Planning has provided excellent information

about how and where D.C. residents work, go to school, and
travel which should be very helpful in planning for future library
facilities (see appendices A and B at www.dclibrary.org).

4. Use the same criteria for evaluating all potential DC

Public Library locations, whether co-located with public
or private partners or in free-standing facilities. These
criteria include cost analyses that factor in both initial
construction and ongoing operating costs.
Often the criteria for partnering institutions are not the same as
for libraries. For example, schools need to be placed away
7
West End library is scheduled to be replaced through the District’s development agreement with Eastbanc.

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 from commercial thoroughfares. But data provided by the D.C.
Office of Planning and our team of library consultants has
shown that in order to attract maximum use, libraries need to
be on commercial thoroughfares. To use public funds
effectively, libraries need to serve the widest possible cross-
section of the community. This should be taken into
consideration when considering co-location with partners.

5. Build neighborhood libraries that are at least 20,000 sq.

ft., are flexible enough to accommodate changing uses
and new technologies, and that meet the District
requirement of Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) Silver or higher standard.
Smaller libraries get less use than larger libraries, which offer
more books, technology, meeting spaces, and other library
services. In fact, both national and local data has shown that
people will walk or drive right past smaller libraries on their way
to get to larger ones. In addition, most operating costs are
NOT less for smaller libraries: larger libraries are more efficient
to staff by a factor of three.8

6. Allocate funds for continuing maintenance and

improvement of the historic, landmark-designated
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library.
It‟s important to be good stewards of this architecturally
significant, nearly 40-year-old District building: this includes
maintenance as well as improving its functionality as a library.
Essential maintenance of the infrastructure has required
significant expenditure.9 The exploration of alternative
locations for the Library and for DC Public Library‟s
administration and support services will continue.

8
Based upon comparison of DC Public Library size and staffing costs. See Appendix H at
www.dclibrary.org.
9
See Appendix F at www.dclibrary.org.

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Appendix A: DC Public Library Services and Facilities: A Framework
for Continuing Success (PowerPoint presentation by the D.C. Office of
Planning, December 2010)

Appendix B: Maps from the Office of Planning:

 Map 1: District of Columbia: Libraries, Transportation, Schools,
Development Activity, Public Facilities
 Map 2: District of Columbia: Libraries

Appendix C: DC Public Library: A Framework for Continuing Success

(Q&A from DC Public Library website)

Appendix D: Neighborhood Library Openings 2011-2012

Appendix E: District of Columbia Public Library Capital Construction

Report: February 17, 2011

Appendix F: Comprehensive List of Projects at the Martin Luther King

Jr. Memorial Library

Appendix G: DC Public Library: FY 2011-16 Capital Budget Request-

Final, 4/1/10

Appendix H: Staff per Square Foot Comparisons: Large, Mid-Size,

Small DC Public Library Neighborhood Libraries

Appendix I: Library Facilities: Current and Future Trends

Appendix J: Public Comment to Draft Report (available April 2011)

Appendix K: Study Finds Many People Use DC Public Library

Computers to Find Jobs; from the “U.S. Impact Study: Web Survey
Results” (University of Washington Information School)

See all appendices at www.dclibrary.org

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