Ward One Library Coalition Gets Wings (and quesadillas)

Ward One Library Coalition
Introductory Organizing Meeting
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Tonic Restaurant and Bar in Mount Pleasant

On 2/28/09, over some tasty food and drink at Tonic, residents from Ward One gathered to give life to a new coalition of concern by those seriously questioning the efficacy of the library design process and resulting design plans of the Mount Pleasant Library expansion project.

People attending included (in particular order):
* Chris Otten, District Dynamos
* Fay Armstrong, Historic Mount Pleasant
* Laurie Ballenger, Historic Mount Pleasant
* Dave Bosserman, ANC 1D Commissioner
* Nancy Shia, ANC 1C Commissioner
* Greg Nicklas, Mt Pleasant Proprietor
* Sean Gannon, Mt Pleasant Condo Association
* Jack McKay, ANC 1D Commissioner
* Laurie Collins, Mount Pleasant Neighborhood Alliance

We left the table with new working relationships around this central issue of the library project in Ward One.

A brief game plan was concocted for the following week of activity, including preparing for the Commission of Fine Arts Meeting (2/19/09) and the Mayor's Office of Community Services meeting with DCPL (2/24/09).

Questions about the design planning helped clarify that DCPL never did a needs assessment at the beginning of the planning in Mount Pleasant and surely not Ward-wide. Since there was no analysis of needs, there was never any consideration by DCPL of expanding service locations in Ward One -- and budget money to use other public property as another library location. Naturally local schools, some facing closure or already closed or under-used, were cited as good locations, including Meyers ES, Gage-Eckington, or Marie Reed.

The good folks at this meeting also began defining points of unity to organize around with an initial draft as follows:

1) We support meaningful analysis and action to expand library services to better serve all of Ward One.

2) We strongly believe that the library design planning and community consultation process, as being applied by DC Public Library leadership, is entirely inadequate and needs to be changed.

3) We want to see the Mount Pleasant Library design planning be halted immediately, including any ongoing permit application procedures.

4) Given the myriad of unresolved problems as fostered by poor planning, the current library design plans must be put aside and an improved library design process must begin again.

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See you Tuesday, 2/24/09 6:30PM at the Mt Pleasant Library -- MOCA Meeting, see dates.

/wardone/