Articles of Interest

This archive contains articles pertinent to libraries, literacy, and the politics thereof.

• MLK Library Remains Open, But Challenges Still Exist

  October 3, 2011, DCist -- Despite the victory for library advocates -- they noted that the King Library had remained open on Sundays for 25 years -- budget challenges remain for the city's library system, notably in terms of books and library materials.

• Sunday Library Hours: D.C. Finds Money To Prevent Cuts

  October 3, 2011, Huffington Post -- The D.C. government will provide $316,000 to keep Sunday hours.

• Everybody Happy: MLK Library Stays Open on Sundays

  October 3, 2011, Georgetown Dish -- Thanks to the last minute efforts of Mayor Vincent Gray, Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells and others, the money was found to keep the District's central open on Sundays.

• Better late than never

  October 3, 2011, Washington Post: The Answer Sheet -- The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library had been slated to close on Sundays as of yesterday because of budget cuts, but after public criticism, Mayor Vincent Gray announced Friday he had located funds to keep it functioning. Better late than never.

• Reading between the lines on library woes

  October 1, 2011, Washington Post -- Over the past four years, $180 million has been spent to restore, rebuild and renew neighborhood libraries. We should be celebrating the surge in library usage that has resulted and resolve to keep libraries open more, not less. Instead, the gleaming, wired buildings sit idle most evenings, two weekday mornings and Sundays — the most-used day of the week.

• DeEvening Links: Sunday at MLK

  September 30, 2011, Washington Post: District of Debonis -- The D.C. Library Renaissance Project had planned a rally for Sunday afternoon in front of the Martin Luther King Memorial Library downtown, protesting the central library’s first Sunday closure in years.

• Sunday Hours at MLK Library Restored at Last Minute

  September 30, 2011, DCist -- With no time to spare, the D.C. Public Library announced today that the money needed to keep Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library open on Sundays had been found.

• Gray finds money to keep D.C.’s MLK Library open on Sundays

  September 30, 2011, Washington Times -- Mayor Vincent C. Gray says he has found $316,000 in the city's budget to keep the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library open on Sundays.

• The District’s MLK library to remain open on Sundays

  September 30, 2011, Washington Post -- The District’s main public library got a reprieve from plans to cut its Sunday hours after Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) announced Friday that the city had found extra funding to keep the building open seven days a week.

• Gray: MLK main library will remain open on Sundays

  September 30, 2011, Washington Post: DC Wire -- In a statement issued just 48 hours before the Martin Luther King Jr. Library on G Street NW downtown keep its doors shut for the day, Gray said the administration had found $316,000 to keep it open on Sundays through fiscal year 2012.

• D.C.’s Bellevue library faces name controversy

  September 26, 2011, Washington Post -- A new $15 million library designed by renowned architect David Adjaye is set to open in the District in a few months — but its name is still unsettled.

• Wells Vows to Keep MLK Library Open on Sundays

  September 23, 2011, Georgetown Dish -- Councilmember Tommy Wells has taken up the popular cause of keeping the downtown Martin Luther King Library open on Sundays, telling the Board of Library Trustees on Wednesday that he “will do everything in my power to get the $320,000 needed.”

• D.C.'s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library Cutting Sunday Service

  September 19, 2011, Huffington Post -- The latest casualty of the District of Columbia's cost-cutting measures: Sunday hours at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library downtown.

• Benning Library brings commerce, community in sync

  April 5, 2010, Washington Post -- With the opening of a new Benning Library today, the District of Columbia's library system begins a brisk period of exciting change, with multiple new facilities coming on line throughout the city.

• Mt. P library patrons not going quietly

  April 5, 2010, Greater Greater Washington -- Mt. P library patrons not going quietly: Activists protested closing the Mount Pleasant Library for renovation Saturday.

• Benning Library Opens in DC After 5-Year Absence

  April 5, 2010, ABC News Channel 7 -- The first new library in D.C. in 20 years opened Monday. The building at 3935 Benning Road NE is one of 10 in the works.

• Library Occupation Funks the Police

  April 4, 2010, Washington City Paper Blog -- This dustup was only the most recent in a string of protests around the last of three original Carnegie libraries to be renovated, which has become a flashpoint for local library activists.

• Protesters Occupy Mt Pleasant Library, Chain Door Open

  April 3, 2010, WSQT Radio -- April 3 was the last day the Mt Peasant Library was open - for at least 18 months of renovation. On the same day of the closure, protesters held the building open at closing time with a door chained open and an occupation of the basement.

• Neighborhood Watch: Residents Flash-Mob Mt. Pleasant Library Expansion

  April 2, 2010, Washington City Paper Blog -- Mount Pleasant Public Library in Ward 1, set to close on Saturday for renovation and expansion, is the latest in the spotlight of the library wars.

• Historic Style: D.C. Public Library, Takoma Park Neighborhood Library

  April 1, 2010, American Libraries Magazine -- DC Public Library restored the Takoma Park Neighborhood Library based on the original blueprints for the 1911 Renaissance Revival building.

• Size Matters in DC Library Fight

  March 27, 2010, NBC News Channel 4 -- There can indeed be too much of a good thing, according to those fighting to preserve a historic library in Northwest Washington.

• Local library's renovation plans proceed

  March 25, 2010, GW Hatchet -- D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty has chosen a $150 million proposal to renovate the West End fire station and library located just off campus, echoing recommendations from two neighborhood groups.

• Mt. Pleasant Library Set to Close for Construction

  March 18, 2010, DCist -- The long-awaited overhaul of the Mount Pleasant Library is just about to begin.

• Washington Highlands Proposal Modified

  November 1, 2009, East of the River Magazine -- Advisory Neighborhood Commission 8D Chair Theresa Jones and neighboring commissioners argue, however, that the library has consistently pursued its own agenda rather than engaging with the community directly enough for Adjaye and team to “interpret their sensitivities.”

• Protest targets ramp at new library branch

  October 21, 2009, Current Newspapers -- Plans to expand and update the Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Library caused more protests yesterday, with a group of seniors and disabled residents saying a proposed 100-foot ramp that would wrap around the building would hinder access and demean them by leading to an entrance in the rear.

• Fire chief, Mendelson trade blame over staffing

  October 20, 2009, Washington Times -- Chief Rubin said Monday that because of budget cuts made by the D.C. Council's Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary, which has oversight of the fire department, he only has the funds to staff two of the six water trucks and with drivers only, instead of full four-person crews.

• Fire Chief & Council Member Again Point Fingers As New Water Report Comes Out

  October 19, 2009, WUSA9.com -- The mayor lead a press conference to provide the city's final report on a July 29 fire on Chain Bridge Road. The internal report by the city lists nine recommendations on how the DC Water and Sewer Authority (WASA) and the DC Fire & EMS Department can better handle fires at locations in the city where there are small water mains.

• D.C. Opens New East-of-the-River Library

  October 5, 2009, News Channel 8 -- D.C. opened the doors Monday to the new Parklands-Turner Library in Southeast, a facility stocked with 25,000 books, DVDs and CDs. But it comes as the library system cuts hours at other libraries, provoking questions about priorities.

• Barry, ANCs Decry Washington Highlands' Design, Process

  October 1, 2009, East of the River Magazine -- ANC 8D convened a special meeting on Sep. 24, inviting other Ward 8 ANCs, to discuss the design with architects, DCPL staff and Barry. Commissioners and community members from across the ward participated.

• Construction for New D.C. Library Causes Controversy

  September 23, 2009, NewsChannel 8 -- Ground was broken Wednesday on a new library in D.C.'s Tenleytown neighborhood. It's going up despite the fact that existing libraries are being forced to cut their hours.

• DC Public Library Budget Is Cut 11 Percent

  September 21, 2009, Library Journal -- The District of Columbia Public Library’s (DCPL) FY10 budget cut of nearly 11 percent involves inevitable service cuts.

• Libraries booming in the burbs

  September 20, 2009, Washington Examiner -- The libraries in Montgomery, Arlington and Fairfax counties are reporting record numbers of guests and record circulation.

• D.C. emergency system still has ways to go, inspector general says

  September 20, 2009, Washington Examiner -- More than two years after a prominent D.C. journalist was left on an upper Northwest sidewalk to die, the District’s emergency rescue team remains woefully unprepared to deal with citizens’ emergencies, an internal review has found.

• Libraries cut hours, services as budget shrinks

  September 18, 2009, Washington Times -- The District's public libraries are shifting hours and services beginning Oct. 5 to cope with a $4.8 million budget reduction.

• Feeling The Pinch, D.C. Libraries Cutting Back

  September 18, 2009, Washington Post -- Ginnie Cooper, the D.C. Public Library's chief librarian, said Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and council members had to make the tough decision to slash the libraries' budget by 11 percent, to $40 million.

• Public Library Survey Reveals Bandwidth Issues, Job-Search Importance

  September 17, 2009, NPR -- a new report from the American Library Association reveals some interesting statistics about the state of technology and the nation's libraries.

• DC Public Library Changing Hours, Services

  September 17, 2009, NBC News Channel 4 -- Washington -- "Even with the changes, we are committed to three important things: keeping the Library open for as many hours as possible; providing the books, technology and other library materials people expect; and opening of six new libraries and celebrating this improvement in service throughout the District," said Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper.

• Don't Let 'Elites' Lock the Doors to the Library

  September 16, 2009, Huffington Post -- The library is at the soul of a democracy. Yet we constantly look to snuff out that soul.

• Groups Take on High Ward 8 Unemployment Rate

  September 15, 2009, NBC News Channel 4 -- Washington -- The unemployment rate in Ward 8 far surpasses the rest of D.C., but a few groups are trying to change that.

• No Villains -- Threatened cuts and partial restorations point out the ambiguous politics of library funding

  September 15, 2009, Library Journal -- Library advocates are understandably constrained from getting angry -- attacking a politician rarely changes his or her mind, and after you have done it, negotiating with that person for library support is nearly impossible.

• D.C. libraries fear staff cuts

  September 14, 2009, Washington Times -- D.C. public libraries will be forced to cut staff and reduce services if the proposed $44 million budget for fiscal year 2010 is further reduced, moves that Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper says are a last resort to save money in a tough economic climate.

• Neighbors speak out against SW library design

  September 3, 2009, Washington Examiner -- Leaders of a far Southwest D.C. community have asked a city planning board to reject a proposed branch library design they say is bizarre and utterly out of touch with their neighborhood.

• D.C. Library At The Cutting Edge?

  September 3, 2009, Washington Post -- Like many users, I still visit the library primarily to find books, and the danger exists that libraries will get too fixated on new toys and lose touch with the central mission. But it's also essential to use the new tools to bring the next generation inside the tent, where they too can lose themselves in the gems and glories of the world's assembled knowledge.

• CITIZEN JOURNALISM: D.C. library adds new learning tools

  September 2, 2009, Washington Times -- The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in downtown Washington has unveiled its new and expansive Young Adult Services Division, designed to meet the educational, recreational and developmental needs of teen library users and provide support to the adults who serve this group.

• Water Concerns? List Of Neighborhoods Needing Special Attention

  August 13, 2009, WUSA9.com -- A preliminary report from Mayor Adrian Fenty's office about the fire two weeks ago on Chain Bridge Road mentioned 34 locations identified by the DC Water & Sewer Authority (WASA) and the DC Fire & EMS Department where special attention was needed because of water issues.

• District fire list names 34 trouble spots

  August 13, 2009, WTOP News -- Across the District there are nearly three dozen locations where firefighters anticipate problems with every fire they fight.

• Public Libraries around Nation Facing Asbestos Remediation

  July 29, 2009, Mesothelioma Web -- It is as costly and time-consuming to demolish a building with asbestos and remove the debris to an approved landfill as it is to perform asbestos remediation and return the structure to use.

• Current Patrons Caught in Purge Of Library Files

  July 24, 2009, Washington Post -- The records of about 147,000 patrons who had not used their cards to check out books or DVDs since March 1, 2007, were deleted.

• Keep Seminole County Florida Libraries Public!

  July 20, 2009, Care2 News: Politics -- With the economy tanking and budget deficits rising, desperate Seminole County Florida officials are considering privatizing their library system.

• MSNBC Library Reports

  June 1, 2009, MSNBC -- Video reports from MSNBC

• Mt. Pleasant Branch Library Expansion and Site Planning Actively Involving Affected Residents

  April 11, 2009, Intowner -- The vibrancy of Washington’s multi-cultural Mt. Pleasant community was in full force and fully matched by passionate expressions of concern at a standing room only town hall meeting at the historic, Carnegie-funded Mt. Pleasant Public Library’s fourth public design meeting.

• Perry Hall library officially opens

  March 24, 2009, Baltimore Sun -- The 25,000-square-foot, one-level building houses more than $1.1 million in 75,000 new items, in addition to the collection of 50,000 books, periodicals, videos and other materials/

• Baltimore County Gets First New Library Branch In 21 Years

  March 23, 2009, WBAL Radio -- The library also includes a working fireplace in the adult reading room, a plasma TV in an area specially designed for teens, and the first-ever drive-up window where people can return items, or check out new ones that they've reserved on-line.

• New $7M Perry Hall Library Opens

  March 23, 2009, WJZ-TV Baltimore -- Conservative yet creative financing has brought a new library to Perry Hall.

• Helping communities win better benefits agreements

  March 19, 2009, Greater Greater Washington -- When communities negotiate with developers, they often lack the knowledge and experience to evaluate proposed Community Benefits Agreements -- this can change.

• DC: Library Lineup

  March 5, 2009, Now Public -- People lined up for reduced hours of service at the Cleveland Park Library.

• DCPL, Ward 1 Residents Disagree about Changes to Library

  March 1, 2009, DC North -- By all accounts, Mount Pleasant is a fractious community with a number of vocal groups that frequently disagree with each other. On this issue, however, they are unified against the current design, which adds a large glass wing to the western side of the library.

• Takoma Park DC Library recaptures the past

  March 1, 2009, Takoma Archives Blog -- When the scaffolding on the Takoma Park DC library comes down this month, the newly renovated interior will match the elegance of the exterior. State-of-the-art technology has been married to the elegant style that recaptures the library's 1911 heritage as a Carnegie library.

• D.C. Libraries: New Buildings, Fewer Hours

  February 20, 2009, Washington Post: Raw Fisher -- What if they built new libraries and couldn't afford to let folks use them?

• District will cut hours at 25 public libraries

  February 13, 2009, Washington Times -- The economy has driven down city tax receipts, leading to lower-than-expected library funding.

• Mr. Barry's 'Obstruction' Was Good for Our Library

  February 12, 2009, Washington Post -- Mr. Barry's disapproval of the Shaw Library contract was judicious and served the public interest.

• Public Library Weighs Reduced Branch Hours

  February 11, 2009, Washington Post -- An infusion of $2 million that Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) said last summer would keep the libraries open normal hours will not be available because of decreases in the city's revenue projections for this year, Library Director Ginnie Cooper said.

• DC Public Library Decides to Reduce Hours

  February 11, 2009, DC Public Library -- Beginning March 2, the DC Public Library will operate with reduced service hours to accommodate the city’s lower-than-expected revenue projections.

• Even Before Vote, District Counting on Stimulus Cash

  February 3, 2009, Washington Post -- 'Clean' Audit May Bolster Case for Budget Help

• Weapon of Mass Obstruction

  January 27, 2009, Washington Post -- Marion Barry makes mischief with a D.C. Council power.

• Fenty to persist with plans for public-private library

  January 20, 2009, Washington Examiner -- Mayor Adrian Fenty says he will continue to push for a library and high-rise housing complex despite opposition from D.C. officials and residents of Tenleytown.

• Advocates for Homeless Object to New D.C. Library Rules

  December 29, 2008, News Channel 8 -- Pamela Stovall, the Martin Luther King Jr. library's associate director, says visitor numbers have been down, forcing officials to look for ways to attract more people.

• DC Public Library May Close Five Antiquated Kiosks

  December 8, 2008, Library Journal -- Although the Washington Post has reported that the District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) will close its smallest facilities, five 1400 square foot library kiosks, that decision isn’t a done deal.

• Interim Library Opening For Georgetown Residents

  December 4, 2008, Washington Post -- The D.C. Public Library has an interim library location to serve Georgetown while the permanent library is renovated.

• District Public Library to Close Kiosk Locations

  December 4, 2008, Washington Informer -- “The D.C. Public Library has known for some time that our kiosks are not providing adequate service to the community,” said Ginnie Cooper, chief librarian of the D.C. Public Library.

• When the Economy Gets Tough---the Tough Go To the Library!

  December 2, 2008, CBS - WRGB -- Statistics show that people, during a recession, use resources that are either free or that paid for through tax dollars, like a public library.

• Tenleytown Library Project Moving Forward Despite Fenty Expectations

  November 21, 2008, Washington City Paper: Housing Blog -- President John Hill, of the Board of Library Trustees, disclosed the decision to move forward with the Tenley plans at the November BoLT meeting, surprising Tenleytown residents and community leaders who have vehemently opposed Mayor Adrian Fenty’s plans for a mixed-use project at Wisconsin Avenue and Albemarle Street.

• Library branch in Tenleytown to be built without residential tower

  November 20, 2008, Washington Examiner -- The DC Public Library’s Board of Trustees has instructed Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper to build a new Tenley-Friendship Library “as quickly as possible” to replace the branch that was closed in December 2004.

• D.C. To Close Five (Mini) Libraries

  November 20, 2008, Washington Post: Raw Fisher -- The D.C. Public Library plans to close all five of its neighborhood kiosks.

• Broward libraries wrap up 10-year expansion

  November 2, 2008, Miami Herald -- Almost a decade after Broward voters overwhelmingly said yes to higher taxes for more libraries, the deal is nearly done.

• Alu Like opening new library sites on Oahu and offering literacy programs

  October 15, 2008, Honolulu Star Bulletin -- Alu Like, Inc.'s Native Hawaiian Library will open two new satellite library sites on Oahu and offer literacy programs at its eight statewide satellite sites with a $510,500 grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services.

• An Architect For the Books

  October 2, 2008, Washington Post -- The D.C. Public Libraries have hired one of London's busiest and most prominent young architects, Mr. David Adjaye, to rebuild Washington Highlands and Francis Gregory neighborhood libraries.

• Listen to the public on Shaw library plan

  September 24, 2008, Current Newspapers -- Before breaking ground, the community should actually get to ask questions and discuss the answers.

• D.C. library system needs reality check

  September 17, 2008, Current Newspapers: Editorial -- Current readers might well be confused by conflicting reports about the new Shaw library in the Sept. 10 issue.

• Shaw and Mt. Vernon Neighborhoods Finally to See Actual Ground-breaking for Long-Awaited, New Watha T. Daniel Branch Library Building

  September 14, 2008, Intonwer -- A somehow myopic version of the so called Shaw Library final-design meeting by the Intowner.

• Governors, mayor stress sustainable efforts

  September 12, 2008, Washington Business Journal -- DC's Mayor talked about the District’s plan to create a renewable energy utility and the new energy-efficient buildings being built in the city.

• Seattle Public Library celebrates "Libraries For All" in neighborhoods across the city

  September 12, 2008, Seattle Times -- "Libraries For All," a $196.4 million bond measure passed in 1998, promised a face-lift for Seattle public libraries, including a new Central Library and 26 new or renovated branches. Ten years later, the city boasts a series of uniquely tailored and heavily used buildings that reflect the desires of their neighborhoods.

• D.C. pushes ahead with Benning plan

  September 12, 2008, Washington Business Journal -- Developers pitched plans to the Benning community Sept. 10 for five Metro-accessible acres owned by D.C.

• Almost Half of District Residents Considered Illiterate

  September 11, 2008, Washington Informer -- People that are functionally illiterate may have some ability to read but have difficulties with crucial tasks such as filling out a job application, understanding bus schedules or reading a newspaper article.

• Donatelli, City Interests present plans for Benning

  September 11, 2008, Washington Business Journal -- Two developers offered dueling plans for 5 acres of city-owned land to D.C. officials and members of the Benning community.

• Neighbors helped shape library plans

  September 10, 2008, Current Newspapers: Editorial -- Chief Cooper found time to write a letter to the Current.

• City unveils final design for Shaw library

  September 10, 2008, Current Newspapers -- Many attendees left Thursday’s meeting frustrated and unsatisfied. They said library officials have ignored many of their questions and complaints and shut them out of a process purportedly designed for their inclusion.

• Library Blog Blasts Palin

  September 4, 2008, School Library Journal -- Launched in early September, Librarians Against Sarah Palin!

• Shaw Library Design to Include Glass Exterior Again

  September 1, 2008, DC North -- DC Public Libraries (DCPL) Public Information Officer George Williams has confirmed that the design plans for the new Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Neighborhood Library slated to open at Eighth Street and Rhode Island Avenue NW will once again include glass.

• New Shaw Library: Design Update

  August 30, 2008, Borderstand Blog -- The latest on the Shaw Library design evolution.

• Library victory in Shaw, Brooklanders still fighting for trees

  August 29, 2008, Greater Greater Washington -- Chief Cooper and the architects have reworked the plan to use a less expensive frosted glass in place of the originally-planned channel glass, enabling them to return to an all-glass design.

• From Glass Gem To Bunker: A D.C. Library's Sad Shift

  August 27, 2008, Washington Post -- The new Shaw library plan bears a remarkable and disturbing resemblance to the much-hated old Watha T. Daniel branch building that was demolished four years ago.

• Adults, teens discuss wish list for library

  August 27, 2008, Maryland Community Newspapers -- From a spacious teen center to more computers and an expanded literature and foreign language section, adults and teens in Silver Spring have a lot to say about what they want in their new library.

• The Slow, Sad Waltz of the New Shaw Library

  August 26, 2008, DC Mud -- The new Waltha T. Daniels-Shaw Library continues to sputter through redesign after redesign in attempts to cut costs while remaining on schedule.

• South L.A. debuts its first 'green' building

  August 19, 2008, Los Angeles Times -- With solar panels, more trees and recycled building materials, the renovated Exposition Park branch of the Los Angeles Public Library received a gold rating from environmental group.

• Battle Ground, Vancouver Library Effort Gets Cash Infusion

  August 14, 2008, Columbian.com -- Confronted with ever-rising building costs, Fort Vancouver Regional Library District trustees have kicked nearly $1 million more into construction of the new Battle Ground Community Library.

• The [Boston] Library's Public Interest

  August 10, 2008, Boston Globe -- The search for a new president for the Boston Public Library is nearly complete.

• D.C. Mayor Finds Funding to Save Libraries

  August 6, 2008, American Library Association -- District of Columbia Mayor Adrian Fenty and Ginnie Cooper, chief librarian for D. C. Public Library, announced at an August 4 press conference that funding has been found to reverse $2 million in projected budget cuts that would have drastically cut library hours.

• City Finds Funds, Avoids Cutting Hours

  August 5, 2008, Washington Post -- Despite a listless Board of Library Trustees who felt cuts had to be made, Mayor Fenty saw that our District libraries needed money and found two million dollars to make sure there were no reductions in library operating hours.

• Don't Cut Library Hours

  August 5, 2008, Washington Post -- Letter to the Editor from a long-time DC teacher regarding library closures.

• Downtown library goes green with new ecoroof

  August 4, 2008, Daily Journal of Commerce -- The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the city of Portland recently gave two grants to Multnomah County in order to fund a $180,000 ecoroof on its central library building in downtown Portland.

• D.C. Locates $2 Million to Keep Libraries Open

  August 4, 2008, Washington Post -- The District has found $2 million to keep its public libraries open normal hours and will not be forced to cut service hours as was feared.

• Fenty Announces Funding to Keep Libraries Open Seven Days a Week

  August 4, 2008, DC Public Library -- Mayor Fenty assured DC residents that they can continue to access all of DC Public Library’s resources seven days a week next year.

• D.C. Public Libraries Face Reducing Hours

  July 30, 2008, DCist -- The word is that all city libraries will probably have to close on Fridays, as well as reduce hours on weekdays and close completely five kiosk branches that serve needy neighborhoods.

• Libraries In D.C. Plan Cuts In Hours; Budget Shortfall Would Also Close Kiosks

  July 30, 2008, Washington Post -- John Hill, president of the library board of trustees, said the system had no choice but to close more hours.

• New Thibodaux library plans unveiled

  July 29, 2008, Daily Comet -- The public got its first glimpse at plans for a 23,000-square foot library in Thibodaux, LA.

• The $2 Million D.C.'s Libraries Couldn't Spend

  July 29, 2008, Washington Post: Raw Fisher -- The D.C. library continues to sit on a $2 million bequest donated expressly to improve the offerings at two of the system's neediest branches.

• University of Kentucky buys Northside library for $1.2 million

  July 26, 2008, Herald Leader, Kentucky.com -- The University of Kentucky paid $1.2 million to buy Lexington's Northside public library branch building at auction.

• Chief Cooper on WAMU on Improving DC Libraries

  July 23, 2008, WAMU - 88.5FM -- Join Kojo as we get the latest on improvements being made to both the neighborhood library branches and the main library in downtown D.C.

• Portland firm wins D.C. library work

  July 18, 2008, Daily Journal of Commerce -- District of Columbia Public Library Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper said she was impressed with Anderson Krygier's work in Portland. Anderson Krygier previously worked with Cooper when she was director of libraries during her 13-year tenure at Multnomah County Library.

• King Fenty’s Decree

  July 14, 2008, DC Watch, The Mail -- DC Mayor Adrian Fenty along with Mary Cheh see outrage from the Tenley-Friendship neighborhoods over decision to sell off library land.

• Fenty Met By Protesters Over Library-School Development

  July 11, 2008, Washington Post, DC Wire -- It wasn't pretty when Mayor Adrian M. Fenty announced the developer for a new library-school project in Tenleytown.

• The Next Libraries: D.C.'s Big Plan

  July 11, 2008, Washington Post, Raw Fisher -- Marc Fisher's analysis of the 2007-08 library transformations and other news.

• D.C. Libraries Mired in Political Dithering

  July 10, 2008, Washington Post -- What's happened in the four years since the District shuttered four of its neighborhood libraries, lost another one to a fire and launched an endless debate over whether to renovate or get rid of its main branch downtown?

• East Columbia Library Turns to a Higher Power: The Sun

  July 10, 2008, Washington Post -- Howard County leadership unveiled an array of 24 solar panels to offset energy costs of their library.

• Editorial: Green Libraries Are Local

  June 15, 2008, Library Journal -- You've got to love San Francisco. Great views, great people, great food, great libraries.

• An open letter to DC Public Library

  June 15, 2008, pureimagination.org -- Why are multiple locations closed down? Why are your hours few and incorrectly posted on your website?

• Anacostia Neighborhood Library Demolition Signals Positive Changes to Come

  June 1, 2008, East of the River Magazine -- Donning a hard hat and a wide grin, DC Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper talked about her excitement surrounding the existing building’s demolition. “You wouldn’t think any librarian would celebrate that!”

• New Benning Library: Asset or Obstacle?

  June 1, 2008, East of the River Magazine -- Despite a council hearing on April 19, called expressly to put all options on the record, no process has yet been arranged for community input on long-term possibilities for East River Park and the library.

• Libraries held up by D.C.'s smart-growth ambitions

  May 2, 2008, Washington Business Journal -- Board of Trustees, and Ginnie Cooper, D.C.’s chief librarian, worry development projects will further delay new libraries in Tenleytown and Benning.

• Stadiums, Libraries and Taxpayers

  April 2, 2008, Nader.org -- Now I ask you—what is the most appropriate, profound, and respectful use of tax dollars? A ballpark built for mega-millionaire owners who could have raised their own capital? Or “gleaming new libraries” which edify a metropolis and play a critical role in educational, civic and urban renewal?

• D.C. ends FY 2007 with another $80M

  February 2, 2008, Washington Examiner -- The D.C. government ended fiscal year 2007 with a $248 million surplus, which includes $80 million in cash it could spend or opt to save for an expected economic crunch, figures obtained by The Examiner show.

• Latest plan adds library to NE project

  January 18, 2008, Washington Business Journal -- City Interests LLC, the developer planning to transform a major shopping center in Northeast D.C. into a mixed-use plaza, is moving to add some notable parcels: the headquarters of the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization and the site of the Benning Neighborhood Library.

• Follow That Story: Misinformed Mofos

  January 17, 2008, Washington City Paper -- Since shuttering in 2004, the Benning Neighborhood Library lost its books and gained several battles between city officials and Northeast activists.

• Shaw Library Demolition, Reconstruction Under Way

  January 17, 2008, Goodspeed Update -- After years of inaction, the process of re-constructing the D.C. Public Library’s Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Neighborhood Branch seems on-track.

• Editorial: Seeing Green

  January 15, 2008, Library Journal -- Libraries are perfectly suited to be incubators for energy conservation

• The Condemned Library -- A sight of wreckage to behold.

  January 6, 2008, You Do Not Want To Know Blog -- Upon rounding the east end of the building, I came across the unanticipated and startling sight of an abandoned demolition.

• Tearing Down a D.C. Library, Only to Build It Back Up

  October 4, 2007, Washington Post -- The demolition of the Tenley library branch has been long awaited as a critical first step in remaking it, though it is unclear what its replacement will look like.

• Deputy Mayor's Objectivity Challenged

  September 27, 2007, Washington Post -- According to city property records, Deputy Mayor Neil Albert bought a $741,940 condominium nearby the controversial West End library development project in January.

• Watha T. Daniel Library -- when's it coming?

  September 21, 2007, Bloomingdale (for now) -- If you live in Shaw you know that the double-wide trailer set up as a temporary home for the Watha T. Daniel / Shaw branch has been sitting there at 10th and Rhode Island with a great big colorful banner announcing what it is, but it isn't open.

• Two on Council Want Land Deal Voided

  September 20, 2007, Washington Post -- Jack Evans and Kwame Brown who praised a plan to sell city-owned land in the West End to a private developer about two months ago are now seeking to have the plan revoked after neighborhood leaders said they were not adequately notified.

• DC Council: Empower DC Protest

  September 19, 2007, Washington Post -- Empower DC organizes a protest at the City Council -- "Public property is not for sale!"

• Washington land-swap deal fails

  September 18, 2007, International Herald Tribune -- Fenty's creative financing to rebuild a library and fire station is not passing muster with all the residents and businesses in the historic Foggy Bottom neighborhood of the U.S. capital.

• Washington land-swap deal fails

  September 18, 2007, International Herald Tribune -- Fenty's creative financing to rebuild a library and fire station is not passing muster with all the residents and businesses in the historic Foggy Bottom neighborhood of the U.S. capital.

• Opposition crescendos to West End resolution

  September 12, 2007, Washington Examiner -- A growing chorus of community organizations are calling on the D.C. Council to revoke the West End emergency resolution.

• D.C. powerless to open interim Shaw library

  August 8, 2007, Washington Examiner -- The prefabricated building on Rhode Island Avenue NW is primed for book lovers, but the District’s Shaw community is still without a neighborhood library thanks to vexing, perhaps avoidable delays connecting the facility to power.

• A Rush to Action

  July 27, 2007, Washington Post Editorial Board -- Mr. Fenty's choice of a police chief antagonized some who felt misled by the process. He thumbed his nose at a requirement to seek public comment in choosing a schools chancellor. The secrecy of that search and the imperious way he set salaries alienated allies on the D.C. Council. But the latest example of Mr. Fenty's corner-cutting is also the most egregious -- the ramming-through of a proposal to sell valuable public property to a private developer.

• Handling of Deal to Sell Library, Firehouse Irks Residents

  July 26, 2007, Washington Post -- It was only then, July 10, that residents got wind of an emergency bill passed by the D.C. Council to negotiate the sale of the neighborhood library and surrounding city-owned land to a private developer.

• Sold Out in the West End

  July 19, 2007, Washington Post -- The sale of the West End Neighborhood Library and the adjacent fire station, which are on our block, by "emergency" legislation on July 10 was engineered to circumvent public comment and to reward a favored developer.

• A Lawsuit, a Protest, and Some Progress at the DC Public Library

  July 19, 2007, Library Journal -- The District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL) may have gained the confidence of some members of the public as it installs interim libraries, yet still, distrust in some neighborhoods has grown.

• D.C. to pay more than federal standard for library designs

  July 18, 2007, Washington Examiner -- D.C. officials are preparing to pay design contractors nearly three times the federal and industry standards for redesign of four libraries.

• Nader Leads Rally Against Plan To Replace West End Library

  July 15, 2007, Washington Post -- About 75 people led by Ralph Nader's D.C. Library Renaissance Project rallied outside the West End Public Library in Northwest Washington yesterday, upset by a recent D.C. Council decision about the future of the popular branch that they said caught them by surprise.

• Rushing Development to the ER

  July 12, 2007, Washington City Paper -- On Tuesday, July 10, during its last session of the summer, the D.C. Council quickly passed dozens of resolutions and laws, including an “emergency” bill approving the West End project that involves the city selling fire, police, and library property to a private developer.

• The Examiner Letters: July 11, 2007

  July 11, 2007, Washington Examiner -- More public property is now up for grabs in the West End at 23rd and L/M streets NW, including a big firehouse, a public library and a police station on perhaps the choicest land in downtown D.C.

• A sweetheart land sale deal smells pretty "unsweet"

  July 10, 2007, Blog: Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space -- DC blog report about the "emergency" resolution affecting the West End neighborhood.

• Borrowing Time

  July 5, 2007, Washington City Paper -- Tingling-Clemmons & Co. don't think it's smart to bulldoze Benning library.

• D.C. Libraries' Woes Still Lack a Happy Ending

  July 5, 2007, Washington Post -- Ginnie Cooper, the energetic and optimistic new chief of the District's sadly neglected public library system, says she knew exactly what she was getting into.

• Welcome to Your Library: Helen Carpenter Meets Ginnie Cooper

  June 28, 2007, Public Libraries and Multicultural Relationships Blog -- Helen Carpenter, Co-coordinator of Welcome To Your Library project, was awarded the 2007 Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Travel Fellowship for 2007 on The Role of Public Libraries in Multicultural Relationships and will be visiting Canada, USA, Sweden, the Netherlands and Belgium.

• Cooper's Challenge

  June 1, 2007, Library Journal -- Library Journal's overview of the state of affairs regarding DC's public library system.

• As the DC Public Library makes up for lost time, community expectations compound

  June 1, 2007, Library Journal -- A funny thing happened while the District of Columbia Public Library (DCPL), already suffering from deteriorated facilities and systems, slogged through stasis (and three interim directors) after the 2003 departure of Director Molly Raphael. Mayor Anthony Williams presided over the city's economic turnaround—or, some charged, cozied up to developers—and then focused on neighborhood issues, including new resources for DCPL, in his second term.

• Needy Readers

  May 9, 2007, Washington Post Editorial -- Why is the city so quick to help out prosperous Georgetown when it's been so sluggish in other places, particularly less-influential neighborhoods across the river?

• Illiteracy Aid Found To Lag In District

  March 19, 2007, Washington Post -- Adults who have trouble doing such things as comprehending bus schedules, reading maps and filling out job applications are considered functionally illiterate.

• Next Time, Keep It Quiet

  March 7, 2007, Washington City Paper Blog -- The Benning Neighborhood Library has been closed since December 2004, leaving lots of Ward 7 residents wondering when their community will be served by something more than occasional bookmobiles and a tiny kiosk in nearby Deanwood.

• Bring Back My Library

  December 31, 2006, Washington Post -- Help us save the Benning Public Library.Help us save the Benning Public Library.

• Bring Back My Library

  December 31, 2006, Washington Post -- Help us save the Benning Public Library.Help us save the Benning Public Library.

• Temporary Facilities, Bookmobiles Fill Gaps

  December 24, 2006, Washington Post -- The D.C. Public Library system will soon open two temporary facilities to serve readers in neighborhoods whose libraries are closed for renovations.

• Library Chief Pushes for New Building

  October 28, 2006, Washington Post -- When Adrian M. Fenty met with New York officials last week to talk about school reform, he said they casually mentioned with pride their city's improved library system as "another place where we can get some good ideas."

• DC libraries are closed but Wi-Fi bookmobile is open for business

  October 20, 2006, ZDNet -- All public libraries in Washington D.C. are being closed due to renovation. While they're closed, they have found have found an interim solution to serve its patrons – in the good old bookmobile, reports the Washington Post.

• At Rally, a Plea to Reopen Anacostia Library

  September 17, 2006, Washington Post -- Community leaders, parents and students gathered at the public library branch in Anacostia last week to demand that it be reopened immediately.

• Anacostia Library Held Hostage

  September 8, 2006, DC Resistance Media -- Anacostia residents gathered at the boarded doors of their library to hang ribbons in hopes that, after two long years of being held hostage, their library would be returned to them.

• Shaw Residents Rally 'Round Their Closed Library

  August 17, 2006, Washington Post -- "We're not real comfortable with their promises," said Padro, who is also president of Friends of Watha T. Daniel Library. "A lot of lip service is being paid to the community input."

• Library Advocates Frustrated By Closed Libraries

  August 17, 2006, NBC4.com -- For almost two years, the Benning Road, Anacostia, Tenley-Friendship and Shaw libraries have been closed. Some library advocates said that with 37 percent of D.C.'s adult population lacking basic reading comprehension, all of the libraries need to be open.

• Several Officials Ousted Before New Chief Arrives

  July 20, 2006, Washington Post -- The head librarian at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library and several other high-ranking officials have been fired days before the arrival of the new D.C. library director, Ginnie Cooper.

• Why D.C. Needs a New Library

  June 13, 2006, Washington Post -- Some of our residents are afraid of building a new library. They've lived with the awful conditions of the current Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library for so long that they can't envision something bolder and better.

• DC Library Leader to Make More Than Mayor

  May 26, 2006, Leary Letter -- Ginnie Cooper has been hired to be the DC Public Library's new Executive Director. Her salary will be $205,000/year. DC Mayor Anthony Williams makes a paltry $152,000.

• A New Day for D.C. Libraries?

  May 22, 2006, Washington Post -- Interesting community comments about the new incoming Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper.

• Cooper Resigns As Library Chief

  May 18, 2006, Sun, The -- After a series of attacks in the press, the executive director of the Brooklyn Public Library, Ginnie Cooper, stepped down yesterday, 18 months before the end of her five-year term.

• Top Library Exec to Quit

  May 13, 2006, Daily News -- Ginnie Cooper's departure - 18 months before her $200,000-a-year, five-year contract was up - comes after several high-profile gaffes, including the controversial closure of a Brownsville library branch in March after a staffer was injured by rowdy teen girls.

• Pol Throws Book at Library

  April 21, 2006, Daily News -- Locals and City Councilwoman Darlene Mealy (D-Brownsville) were angered about the closing of the Glenmore Ave. branch, and questioned why residents weren't informed.

• Library Big Nearly Blew Stack. 20G Asia Junket Nixed, Called 'Imprudent'

  March 8, 2006, Daily News -- Cooper failed to ask library trustees permission before signing up for a week-long junket in Asia with three top staffers at a cost of $20,000 - prompting an angry letter from former Library Board President.

• D.C. Libraries Wander Off The Path to a Happy Ending

  February 23, 2006, Washington Post -- This story should be a celebration of democracy, a stirring tale about how D.C. residents, disgusted by the decay and disregard that have left the city's libraries in wretched condition, rose up and demanded change -- and got it.

• Task Force Recommends D.C. Library Overhaul

  January 20, 2006, American Library Association -- “We’re five decades behind where we should be,” said task force member Terrance Lynch in the January 18 Washington Post. “Our kids are going to their grandmothers’ libraries in the computer age.”

• An Interim Library Is Rolling Up In 4 Areas

  January 19, 2006, Washington Post -- In some parts of the District, screaming purple, shrieking orange and electrifying aqua mean library books are nearby.

• Libraries Lack Hours, Funds

  January 19, 2006, Daily News -- Brooklyn Libraries are open nearly six hours less a week than they were in 2001.

• Overhaul Urged For D.C. Libraries,

  January 18, 2006, Washington Post -- More than $450 million is needed to properly fix the District's public library system, the Mayor's Blue Ribbon Taskforce on Libraries reported, because the buildings suffer from years of neglect and should be almost entirely rebuilt.

• Bold Plan for a New Library But Critics Question $85M Bill

  January 4, 2006, Daily News -- Critics questioned the idea of putting up an extravagant, specialized library in Brooklyn at a time when budget cuts have meant that many borough branches have limited hours.

• Library Closings Extended

  November 24, 2005, Washington Post -- Martha Saccocio, president of the Friends of Tenley-Friendship Library, said residents served by that branch are also missing their facility. Yet, Saccocio said, she had "actually agreed with the decision. I'm frustrated that the process took so long, but we were really unhappy with the community input. . . . We felt that the architect and the construction company didn't really listen to the community on what we wanted as to the scope of the project."

• Library Head Docked $27G

  November 17, 2005, Daily News -- Since taking over Brooklyn's public libraries in January 2003, Cooper had 33.6 days off beyond what library rules allow.

• D.C. Library to Redesign Four Neighborhood Libraries

  October 24, 2005, DC Public Libraries -- The District of Columbia Public Library Board of Library Trustees voted to accept the recommendation of the District’s Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP) that the city terminate the design/build contracts with Hess Construction Company.

• D.C. Libraries Can Escape Insignificance

  August 2, 2005, Washington Post -- In a city where children keep getting killed and more than half the teenagers who start ninth grade vanish from the student rolls by the end of high school, why should anyone care that the District's public libraries are, with rare exceptions, dank pits with leaky roofs, outdated books and sullen staffers?

• Tenleytown: That's not enough for you?

  July 21, 2005, Washington Post -- The tragedy of the D.C. library system only deepens in Tenleytown.

• Meetings on Library Renovations

  January 27, 2005, Washington Post -- The D.C. public library system will hold a final series of public meetings to solicit comments from the community on the proposed architecture and programs for four branch libraries that are being rebuilt.

• Library's Overdue Add-On's On

  December 22, 2004, Daily News -- The Brooklyn Library has raised $2 million from private sources, and expects to raise $2 million more for adding a $16 million library auditorium project to a historic building, which also includes a new plaza for the library.

• Loss of Largesse Doesn't Surprise Library Backers

  December 1, 2004, Washington Post -- Several advocates of the District's public libraries said they were disappointed that the system lost a chance to get millions of dollars from financing for a baseball stadium, but few expressed surprise at the outcome.

• Architects to Discuss Library Design Plans

  September 23, 2004, Washington Post -- The D.C. public library system will hold a series of meetings to inform residents in four District neighborhoods of plans to rebuild their community libraries.

• Changing Face of Borough Eyed Library to Offer Talks on Transition

  September 8, 2004, Daily News -- "There are still people like me who are just coming to Brooklyn," said Ginnie Cooper, the executive director of the library, who arrived from Portland, Ore., last year.

• Development Could Erode Local History

  June 24, 2004, Washington Post -- A grand but long-abandoned downtown schoolhouse, one of the country's smallest military cemeteries and three soon-to-be redeveloped riverfront neighborhoods are among the District's most threatened historically significant sites, according to a local preservation group.

• Boro's Books Boss Shares Her Life Story

  May 9, 2004, Daily News -- For the last 15 months, Ginnie Cooper has been executive director of the Brooklyn Public Library, the country's fifth-largest independent system, with 60 branches serving the borough's 2.5 million residents.

• 100G Push to Buy Books Public Asked to Ease Library Woes

  September 26, 2003, Daily News -- The Independence Community Foundation is challenging the people of Brooklyn to help buy books for the borough's 60 public libraries.

• DCPL Capital Construction Website

  March 30, 2003, DC Public Libraries -- March 2003 would mark the first time DCPL mentions on their website a redesign of the now famous four branch libraries, Shaw, Anacostia, Benning, and Tenleytown.

• New Library Head a Top-Shelf Pick

  December 16, 2002, Daily News -- Ginnie Cooper, who directed the Portland, Ore., library system for 12 years, is heading to New York next month to become executive director of the Brooklyn Public Library.

• What does Anthony Lanier think it will take to revitalize Georgetown as a shopping district?

  July 5, 1999, Washington Post -- Lanier, 47, a gregarious man with a wide smile and an Austrian accent, describes himself as "just a bean counter."

• A Complex Rich in Amenities Rises on the West End

  April 12, 1999, Washington Post -- Flowery article describing EastBanc development projects in the West End neighborhood.

• Millennium Partners to Build Ritz-Carlton Hotel as Anchor of Washington, D.C. Luxury Residential Development

  June 4, 1998, Business Wire -- Millennium Partners today announced plans to build The Ritz-Carlton Hotel & Residences in Washington, D.C., a mixed-use development that will bring together luxury condominiums, a five-star hotel, prime retail space and a world-class fitness and spa facility in one development.

• Downtown library shutting its doors on Sundays

  December 31, 1969, Washington Post -- The end of Sundays is part of a steady dwindling of public library services in recent years as the city has cut funds. Library spending in the District fell from more than $45 million in 2008 to less than $35 million for 2012.

/articles/