Mayor Adrian Fenty
The Office of the Mayor of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20004
August 12, 2008
There is a growing frustration among citizens of DC regarding this administration’s ability to build an infrastructure that will make possible the achievement of excellence in our schools, the reduction of adult illiteracy and a viable plan for crime prevention.
One major problem has been the failure of the recent library transformations happening around the City and in the Ward 2 Shaw neighborhood.
The following points highlight what we see as lacking in the current commitment of this government to creating a strong and vibrant library system integrated into the overall strategic education plan for the District.
1.We have a Board of Library Trustees (BoLT) that has been unable to produce results in its tenure. It continues to do an unsatisfactory job for the citizens of the District in its role of operational and financial oversight of the library system. A most recent blunder shows their disconnection with the importance of everyday use the library has for DC residents. At the July 23, 2008, Board of Library Trustees meeting, the BoLT was willing to approve the Chief Librarian's plan to close all library buildings on Fridays, reduce library hours, and close library kiosks permanently. This is a clear disregard for the impact it would have on our City’s ability to prevent crime and improve literacy. Libraries are a critically important option for redirecting the activities of young children, teens, and adults. We appreciate your insight to step in and find a way, but it shows how the Board of Library Trustees are simply failing in their responsibilities -- to help find the resources to make possible the library services District residents want.
2.The Library Board has allowed new construction projects to languish in the design phase after a year of limited community engagement. At least one needless legal battle has ensued regarding the destruction of a potentially viable building thus causing community distrust of the government’s intent. Outside of a the few stalwarts, community interest for the projects has waned significantly because of the protracted timeline, poor marketing of the effort and the lack of full government support. Unlike the stadium that operates 80 days a year, the libraries traditionally operate over 320 days a year and can do more for the quality of life shared by the citizens of the District. We are in need of an advocate for public libraries to take on this task and make things happen now, again something we are not seeing from the Board.
3.We have come to the conclusion that under the BoLT we will not get the needed job done. We see consumer markets being restored and yet another stadium proposal placed before us, while our libraries sit and wait. We are seriously in need of leadership that is focused on and committed to delivering the quality product that is long overdue to the residents of our city. Here again, we have a vast amount of tax dollars invested and nothing to show for it after 5 years. We have communities feeling completely left out of the design planning and winding up with an end product that is far from 21st Century.
We encourage your review of this situation and urge you to provide direct action, by this government, that will place the reconstruction of our library on the list of priorities to get done this year and done with meaningful community input. The Board of Library Trustees have made far too many mistakes in the last several years and the status quo must end now... you can help.
We look forward to engaging with you about better oversight of our DC Public Library system so to improve library services, responsibilities to the public, and seek better outcomes for all library patrons. Please contact us at the phone numbers below or call 202-387-8030.
Empowered on behalf of the Shaw Library Study Group and with sincerest regards,
Virginia Lee (Ward 2) Barbara Carter (Ward 2)
Cc: Councilmember Harry Thomas, Chair of the Libraries Committee
Council Chair Vincent Gray
Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans
FOLLOW UP SINCE DELIVERY OF THE LETTER
Date Sat, 30 Aug 2008 8:23 AM
From "Virginia C Lee" <virginiaclee@msn.com>
To "Adrian Fenty" <Adrian.Fenty@dc.gov>
Cc "District Library Dynamos" <dclibrarydynamo@rushpost.com>,
barbaramcarter@gmail.com, "Jack Evans" <jackevans@dccouncil.us>
[Add]
Subject From Glass Gem To Bunker: A D.C. Library's Sad Shift - Raw Fisher
-----
Mayor Fenty,
Good government is also about positioning the administration so it can stay
ahead of the storm of public discontent by acting and responsing in a timely
manner. It honors the sense of urgency.
On August 12, 2008 the Shaw Library Study Group (SLSG) hand delivered a letter
to Ms. Tanya Driggitt, of your office. It was a status report on the progress,
or lack there of, being made on the construction of the Watha T. Daniel Library,
as seen through the eyes of members of the Shaw community.
This continues to be a sign of growing government mismanagement of real life
citizen concerns and the lack of understanding among members of the community
about the priorities you have stated for your administration. A library is central
to revitalizing the education of excellence in this city. It is critical to
building stability in neighborhood schools. It is the universal classroom, open
to all. It speaks volumes about valuing the lifetime learning of the citizens
its serves. Yet it does not rate a baseball stadium priority in our city.
The point I am making is that your team had been advised of the growing unrest
regarding this project in the above stated letter, and they allowed Marc Fisher
of the Washington Post (see column attached) to go on record with the exact
same observations and list of grievances. We posed the question regarding why
the Library Board did not solicit foundation grants when it saw that we did
not have the funds in house to build this "gem for city". How are
to we believe that public engagement is central to the workings of your administration?
Examples are mounting to the contrary.
I do understand that you can not do everything for all constituents all the
time. But your administration is to alert you to the sense of urgency that exist
on certain issues facing the community. This is one of them. We are still expecting
a response from you to our letter. I will be following up with Ms. Driggitt
on Monday, September 1st, to make sure this matter has come to your attention.
We hope to see you or your representative at the Community Design Meeting on
Thursday, September 4, 2008, 6:30p.m., Watha T. Daniel Interim Library.
This is a critical time in the life of this country. We must raise our collective
voices to assure that the democratic way is practiced and preserved.
Sincerely,
Virginia C. Lee
SLSG
202.387.1320
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/rawfisher/2008/08/from_glass_gem_to_bunker_a_dc.html