The DC Library Renaissance Project believes that a renovation of the historic, architecturally iconic Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library would be a more prudent use of public funds than building a smaller* new central library, as part of a "mixed use" development, in a location further from public transportation. According to an AIA Urban Design Committee feasibility study (completed in 2000 at the Library’s request), a thorough, thoughtful renovation fully addressing issues identified by staff and users over the forty years since MLK was opened could readily be achieved.

*MLK is 420,000 sq ft. The proposed new central library is 225,000 sq feet.

Cost: The AIA feasibility study has never been priced, in spite of numerous parties having called for it including Library Trustees and The Committee of 100. Library Committee Chair Kathy Patterson told attendees at a Town Hall Meeting on April 22 that she would ask for that to be done. Further, in proposing a new central library, the City is not looking at other potential solutions such as selling the redevelopment rights of the Old Convention Center site and applying that money to renovating MLK, or creating revenue streams by leasing space for a café or bookstore on the ground floor and/or event space that could be rented such as a refurbished lobby and an additional fifth floor.

Neighborhoods First: The focus of the regeneration of the District library system should be on the neighborhood libraries. A new central library or renovated MLK risks diverting resources from neighborhood libraries. MLK needs repair to bathrooms and elevators but a complete overhaul can wait. There is space to increase programs, add computers, expand collections, and do refurbishment in place. What DCPL lacks is a program or technology plan, an accurate inventory of books, or a realistic schedule for maintenance. These failures are internal and will not be remedied by a new building. Besides, with four libraries closed for rebuilding on December 31, 2004, and not one shovel lifted, DCPL hasn’t demonstrated that it can handle the planning and capital construction it has already undertaken. For nearly a year and a half, no interim services have been provided to the communities affected by the closings except weekly bookmobile visits. Those neighborhoods now approach a second summer without libraries.

Historicity: "A building dedication is a heritage that is nurtured from one generation to the next. It is not a plaque reattached to another building." [2] The District’s central library was the first major public building in the country to be dedicated to the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. The designation followed a petition and letter writing campaign by District citizens and was endorsed by the Board of Library Trustees. Restoring and expanding the library that bears his name is a way to honor Dr. King.

An Architectural Icon: Mayor Williams says DC deserves an architectural icon for its library. We already have one. MLK architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, was the preeminent exponent of the “International School” and one of the most influential architects of the 20^th Century. MLK is the only Mies building in Washington and the only library he ever built. His design for MLK was the result of an intensive collaboration with then Library Director Harry Petersen.[3] When it opened, MLK was celebrated by critics as a great public building. The library’s deteriorated condition detracts from its austere elegance but is not a reason to abandon it.

Location: The new central library will have less access to public transportation than MLK where all five Metro lines are within two blocks.[4] The new library building as proposed does not face onto the “grand vista” of New York Avenue but faces west, away from the city and away from the overall Old Convention Center site itself, making it seem grafted on, rather than the integral heart of the project that proponents claimed it would be.

A State of the Art Library: Anything “state of the art” becomes less so once completed. When MLK opened, it possessed some of the most advanced technology of the day – book conveyor belts, pneumatic tubes, special tinted glass. In addition, it had the flexibility ideal for growth and change – an open floor plan with few fixed walls, and provisions for an additional floor to be built when needed. As many have noted, statements that the library cannot be modernized because it was built before the computer age are absurd. MLK is essentially a big box and readily lends itself to the inevitable systems upgrades that all buildings require over time.

Mixed Use Development: Mayor Williams wants a new central library to make “a grand statement about civic life.” Unfortunately, he proposes a library obscured in a hodgepodge of mixed-use where no statement can be heard. DC already has the free-standing, purpose-built, historic building required to make a grand statement: MLK.

Fundraising: The DCPL Foundation believes that renovating MLK would not be exciting enough to generate financial support. In fact, MLK has exactly the kind of attributes fundraisers look for: history, noble purpose, architectural prominence. Fundraising is always difficult. Even institutions with the track record of a Corcoran Gallery of Art or an Arena Stage have had to cancel recent projects, partially funded by the District, because they could not raise the private funds to meet their goals. No magic formula ensures success but fundraising will be facilitated by citizen excitement and buy-in. Only further public discussion can generate that.

MLK has been battered by decades of budget cuts and control boards; deferred maintenance has caused extreme deterioration; normal wear and tear and the passage of time make an upgrade inevitable for any building. Years of neglectful stewardship have not done honor to the King legacy. Now that the city is enjoying a surge in revenues, MLK should be restored and updated for the use it was intended.

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[2] Stuart Gosswein, The Committee of 100, from testimony before DC City Council Education and Library Committee Town Hall Meeting of April 22, 2006.

[3] A similar, latter-day collaboration that would be vitally needed for a new building is not even imaginable for the near future since DCPL has had no permanent director for over three years, and anyone new would not be qualified to take on such a task without some period of experience of the DC system.

[4] Red, Green, and Yellow lines at Gallery Place on the SW corner of Ninth and G; Blue and Orange lines at Metro Center two blocks away at Eleventh and G