Letter to the Editor:

We agree that the time is ripe for making some key decisions about the Library. We agree with the urgency, with the difficulties surrounding the hiring of a new Director, and the role being played by a Library Board still in transition. Nor do we necessarily oppose the building of a new Library at the Old Convention Center site.

What remains?

We do not agree with the proposal being pressed by the Mayor, and the downtown Business Improvement District (BID) led by Joe Sternlieb. We are not worried about knocking down the MLK Library building (there will be many citizens actively opposing that), but because the numbers offered by the BID - $170 million - for a complete rebuilding of the system seem to have no basis in fact. They were offered, it appears, simply to make this particular formula palatable. According to these numbers, it would be cheaper to build an entirely new Library than to rehab the MLK Library. Who would reject such a bargain?

However, the numbers appear to have been plucked, like rabbits, from Joe Sternlieb's hat, and neither he nor Andy Altman were able to answer questions from Council members Schwartz and Evans about how these numbers were produced. Last year a responsible study found that it would cost $75 million to rehab the MLK Library and $150 million for an entirely new building. In Mr. Sternlieb's presentation to Council those numbers were reversed - arbitrarily we believe -- so that it now appeared that it would cost $170 million to rehab MLK and between $80 and $100 million to build a new Library at the Old Convention Center site.

We are simply asking for a better and more reliable set of numbers lest the citizens of the District be short-changed, and before escalating costs for a new Library further unbalances the District's budget.

In addition, we have been told all along by Mr. Sternlieb, the Mayor, and Andy Altman that what was wanted was a brand new "signature" Library at the new site. This was the story until two weeks ago when Deputy Mayor Eric Price was quoted in the Post describing a "signature" Martin Luther King Basement Library, with the entry at street level, most of the Library underground, and a hotel (described as "small") sitting on top of the Library. The "signature" here is not bold enough for us, while the sudden appearance of the "hotel" furnishes a considerable amount of ambiguity and too much fog to envision the intended result.

Thus the sale of "air rights", for us, produces an unacceptable design. We need to understand this better before making such a critical decision. We can wait until October without losing our place in line for a Convention Center spot.

Last, but not least, we do not agree that a deal with developers holds the key to rebuilding the system, nor do we agree with the idea of burying libraries inside mixed use projects. When developers say they are offering the city "free" libraries for access to invaluable city real estate, the so-called "bargain" should be sharply scrutinized, with the recent offer from the BID for a new so-called "signature" Library a case in point.

Currently, we are exploring with Council Members several alternative financing options, including the issuance of a bond, which would have the virtue of permitting planning to go ahead without the necessity of burying one of the first public buildings dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr. under a "small" hotel.

In September, the DC Library Renaissance Project is holding a Roundtable for Council Members. We will be bringing in experts who have helped overhaul their individual library systems without getting into bed with mixed-use developers, and without compromising the integrity of libraries as critical educational institutions dedicated to serving the general public.

The Roundtable will offer a complete alternative to the present Mayoral plan, including funding options, design concerns, costs and a needs assessment that is sorely missing and absolutely essential before the District approves this, or any, particular plan.

Sincerely,

Leonard Minsky
Director
DC Library Renaissance Project