LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Dupont Current, 9/24/08
Listen to the public on Shaw library plan
I am grateful to all who have been hard at work on the new Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Neighborhood Library.
I didn’t pay attention much until the initial exterior design transformed from the “Jewel of Shaw” into a remake of the old brutal box of Rhode Island Avenue. That caught my attention, and so I attended the final design meeting held at the temporary library on Sept. 4.
The meeting started off weird — a facilitator read, word for word, a grade-school-level handout informing us how to behave in a public meeting.
And it stayed weird. No questions were allowed during the staff’s presentation time. Attendees were told that all prior concerns would be answered during these presentations. In a lecture format, the library team then talked for the bulk of the meeting.
Many questions went unaddressed: What is the budget? What will the exterior look like? Will there be a living green roof? Will there be adult literacy facilities? Will the building meet the needs of seniors living nearby? Will there be a cafe?
The attendees were allowed to ask questions for the last 35 minutes, and while a few questions did get sort-of answers, follow-up was incomplete (for example, no budgetary numbers were provided to support “We can’t afford that”). Other times, the answer was, “We’ll talk about that later.”
Disappointed and frustrated attendees remained respectful. Alex Padro, speaking as an advisory neighborhood commissioner, requested another meeting and suggested that the community’s questions be answered in writing. Others agreed, wanting a real chance to talk with library staff.
Chief librarian Ginnie Cooper’s answer came a week later in her letter to the editor in The Current’s Sept. 10 issue. She said she was “pleased with how much the community has assisted” in shaping the new library. She let us know there would be no more pre-construction meetings, because, according to Ms. Cooper, we are fortunate that the community conversation is over and we can all focus on breaking ground.
Before breaking ground, the community should actually get to ask questions and discuss the answers. A summary budget should be provided so people can understand the financial pressures on the
library team.
Ms. Cooper is getting things done for the D.C. libraries, and I was impressed by the temporary facility. What I don’t understand is why this capable woman and her capable team don’t include us, smart and capable community people, in the decision-making process. All of us being in the same room at the same time, with us listening and the library staff talking, doesn’t count as participation.
Rene Wallis
LeDroit Park