Shaw Library Reportback & Update

1) BOLT Meeting 7/23/08
2) Updated DCPL website
3) Study Group Next Steps

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1) Board of Library Trustees Meeting
Last Wednesday, July 23, 2008, several Shaw residents and employees came out to ask questions and speak up for better community engagement and the best possible Watha T. Daniel / Shaw Library. But first, folks got together at a local grill so that neighbors from Tenleytown, Benning,
and Shaw could share their library design experiences.

Then the group headed over to the Board meeting held at the SouthEast library near Eastern Market. Shaw residents and others queryed the Board and Chief Cooper about the new Watha T. Daniel / Shaw library.

Questions and issues included:
* accessibility to the disabled and specifically to seniors,
* expandability and whether it is possible to construct the building footings so that additional floors could be added later,
* a request to conduct feasibility studies on active-green solar and wind technologies to see how much money such technologies could save the
City over time,
* Shaw wants to see plans for a meaningful adult literacy program,
* the wish to to see the line-item budget for the new library,
* continuous discussion with the youth to shape the library for their needs, and
* keep the information loop updated and consistent on the website

Unfortunately, many of these questions could not be answered or just plainly would not be answered by the Chief Librarian. She had the tendency to dismiss concerns with statements like, "That is just not in our budget" or "We don't have the money to do that."

The problem here is follow-through...

The Board of Library Trustees has the role of identifying voiced community needs and asking the Chief Librarian to isolate the costs of
meeting those needs. Once a quantified number has been determined, the Board is empowered to seek additional funding to meet these needs.

Funding sources can be private or public, with the Board outreaching to local private foundations and philanthropists or touching base with City Council leadership to locate additional monies.

This has not happened to date in Shaw, Benning, & Anacostia despite many voices asking for such action. The Board has let District residents down
again by allowing Chief Librarian Cooper to keep arms length with the residents of Shaw and elsewhere. The question of competency of the Board
and its leadership has been smoldering for some time now.

There are videos of the Board Meeting online here >> www.video.google.com
Search for "7/23/08 BOLT meeting"

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GINNIE COOPER ANNOUNCES LIKELY LIBRARY CLOSINGS AT BOLT MEETING

Towards the start of the BOLT meeting on 7/23/08, Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper announces potential plans to close all library buildings on
Fridays, reduce hours of operation and close all library buildings by 8pm, and to close permanently the library kiosks around the City.

This comes as a dreadful and surprising shock to many library advocates who want the library to restore hours - not reduce them, to be open
longer - not less hours, to expand library services - not close them permanently!

This information has not gone public yet... but there will be an outcry when it does. Should the Shaw Library Study Group (YOU) get involved in
a campaign to stop this from happening? Contact Chris O. if interested, dclibrarydynamo (at) rushpost.com, 202-536-4065

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2) DCPL Website finally updated

Thanks to pressure from residents concerned about the new Shaw library, DCPL and Chief Cooper finally updated their website nearly seven months
late. Finally, one can get to see the community comments and *two* new images from the meeting held on June 23, 2008. The meeting prior to this
was held on January 30, 2008.

For nearly seven months, Shaw residents interested in the new library could not access any information on what happened at the January 30, 2008 design meeting. Shaw residents could not see how their concerns and suggestions were incorporated into the design plans as they evolved
over the last seven months!

BUT NOW that the website has been updated with two new images, a whole bunch of new questions arise... as the two new images seem to be
drastically different from the ones shown on January 30, 2008.

Here are the NEW images >>
tinyurl.com/68dpmx

Here are some of the OLD images from Commissioner Chapple's website >>
tinyurl.com/653bsl

It seems all the glass is gone and back are the long slit windows that people dreaded in the old Shaw library. Additionally, there is rumor
that the green roof has been cut out of the design completely due to budget cuts. But DCPL is NOT giving the public any details about any
cuts and how this may be affecting YOUR new Shaw Library.

* What do you think??

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3) Shaw Library Study Group - NEXT STEPS

It is clear the Shaw community has been afforded some extra time to put some pressure on the Board of Library Trustees, Chief Librarian Ginnie
Cooper, and the City Council to get a better library, one that Shaw deserves.

Shaw residents continue to be left out of the information loop and their concerns remain unaddressed by both DCPL and BOLT. Petitions,
letter-writing, and rallies have been tossed around as potential next steps.

* Perhaps you want to play a role?

~Shaw Library Study Group
FMI: Coordinator Chris Otten, 202-536-4065
dclibrarydynamo (at) rushpost.com

As you know Ward 2 is getting a new library in the Watha T. Daniel / Shaw neighborhood.

Here are images of what was unveiled on January 30, 2008









Here are images of what was unveiled nearly seven months later on June 23, 2008hr





These are the only two available on the DC Public Library website.

* Is it a dramatic change from January version?
* Does it seem in the latest design the glass largely disappeared? Why?
* Do the windows in the latest design from June 23, 2008 suggest a feeling of the demolished Shaw library?
* There are rumors that the library will not be including the green roof as shown on January 30, 2008. Why?

On Tuesday, July 29, Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper hosted a randomly planned meeting for Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners at Martin Luther King Library.

Commissioners residing in the areas affected by closed libraries and their subsequent chairs were supposedly asked to come to downtown DC for a random meeting about the libraries. Only two ANC Commissioners were able to make time in their busy schedules to be there. Chair of ANC 2C, Doris Brooks, was never notified, except by phone from the Shaw Library Study Group and was able to be there.

Not much came of the meeting… in fact, the images that were shown to these two Commissioners were dated by more than 6 months. Archie Williams, DC Public Libraries Intergovernmental Liaison, showed CMR Brooks images of the Shaw design dating to January 30, 2008.

Here is an image of what DCPL is showing ANC Commissioners as of late July 2008…

These were unveiled to the public on January 30, 2008. They didn't go up on the DCPL website for several weeks.