SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
EXPLORE +
  • About infoDOCKET
  • Academic Libraries on LJ
  • Research on LJ
  • News on LJ
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Libraries
    • Academic Libraries
    • Government Libraries
    • National Libraries
    • Public Libraries
  • Companies (Publishers/Vendors)
    • EBSCO
    • Elsevier
    • Ex Libris
    • Frontiers
    • Gale
    • PLOS
    • Scholastic
  • New Resources
    • Dashboards
    • Data Files
    • Digital Collections
    • Digital Preservation
    • Interactive Tools
    • Maps
    • Other
    • Podcasts
    • Productivity
  • New Research
    • Conference Presentations
    • Journal Articles
    • Lecture
    • New Issue
    • Reports
  • Topics
    • Archives & Special Collections
    • Associations & Organizations
    • Awards
    • Funding
    • Interviews
    • Jobs
    • Management & Leadership
    • News
    • Patrons & Users
    • Preservation
    • Profiles
    • Publishing
    • Roundup
    • Scholarly Communications
      • Open Access

January 29, 2015 by Gary Price

District of Columbia: DC Public Library Board Adopts Resolution Supporting Stand-Alone Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library with Fifth Fl. Addition

January 29, 2015 by Gary Price

From the DC Public Library:

Wednesday, Jan. 28, the DC Public Library Board of Trustees unanimously adopted a resolution supporting the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library modernization design approach as a stand-alone library with a fifth-floor addition.
The board recommended the fifth-floor addition approach instead of the three-story, mixed-use addition after considering the requirements for a modern library, factoring in community feedback and reviewing the cost-benefit analysis of adding three new floors.
“After months of listening and learning, the Board had several goals,” said Gregory M. McCarthy, president, of the DC Public Library board of trustees. “First and foremost, it was essential to make possible additional space for programming in a spectacular central library. We also wanted to create a hub for educational, cultural and civic expression for the whole city and we wanted contribute to the social and economic activation around MLK in downtown.  The concept we’re advancing does all of that.”
Modernizing the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library with a fifth-floor addition could accommodate the library’s building program with the option of including mixed-use, like a café and restaurant as well as space for non-profit and government partners.
In 2012, planning for the modernized Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library assumed that a new library would need only 250,000 square feet. In December, the Library revised its program to incorporate new library uses and to include ideas from more than 3,000 District residents. The new program will require the entire 400,000 square foot building plus a fifth-floor addition.
The additional space will be used to provide new and expanded services such as:

  • Classrooms and Training Facilities. Library staff and partners will provide instruction to better prepare district residents for school and career readiness. A larger space for children’s programming and books to address the larger number of children that visit the library regularly and for story times.
  • Creativity Commons for Innovation and Prototyping. Access to and training on an impressive suite of tools that will address the growing need for spaces to incubate the next generation of scientists, technologists, and engineers. Studio space and creativity software that will empower D.C.’s burgeoning creative community with the means by which to innovate.
  • Experiential learning spaces for children and teens. Stimulating activities and environments that facilitate early childhood literacy, support for students, and college and career readiness for teens and young adults. The focus of the library’s work with youth is to make learning exciting and to stress informal programs that complement the work of schools and other partners.
  • Reading Room and Library. An inspiring and natural light-filled area for books, readers, and researchers. A haven and sanctuary for quiet and solitary learning.
  • Large Gathering Spaces for Performances, Readings, and Civic Engagement. The library will be a destination for cultural events, discussions, community meetings, musical performances, and readings.
  • Washington DC History Center. An archive, special collection, and exhibition space focusing on Dr. King’s legacy in DC.  A repository for the collections of notable Washingtonians.
  • New Fifth-floor Addition. A new floor with rooftop terrace that will be used for reading and library programs.

With the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library needing the entire building for library service, adding three floors will likely generate revenues of less than 10-15 percent of the total project costs. This percentage would likely be decrease when considering the impact of adding three floors to the existing historic structure which may also prompt a legal review by the Mayor’s Agent.  In addition, the three-floor addition was found to decrease space for new library services and was not likely to increase library usage significantly.
The District Government has committed $208 million in the FY 2015 ($14.5m), FY 2017 ($4.5m), FY 2019 ($76.5m) and FY 2020 ($113m) capital budget, enough to cover the cost of the modernized library with the fifth floor addition the Library Board supports in its resolution.

Primary Documents

  • Full Text of Board Approved Resolution (PDF)
  • Executive Summary of CBRE Appraisal, prepared by Jair Lynch Development Partners
  • Supplemental Report and Recommendations on CBRE Appraisal, prepared by Jair Lynch Development Partners
  • Appraisal prepared by CBRE

See Also: Preliminary Design Ideas For DC Public/MLK Public Library Renovation Project Released (February 7, 2014)

Filed under: Libraries, Open Access, Public Libraries, School Libraries

SHARE:

About Gary Price

Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com. Gary is also the co-founder of infoDJ an innovation research consultancy supporting corporate product and business model teams with just-in-time fact and insight finding.

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

Job Zone

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Infodocket Posts

Collections: JSTOR is Introducing a New Archive Fee Model Option

From a Letter by Ithaka President Kevin Guthrie: I recently shared the 2023 priorities ITHAKA has set to help provide the infrastructure the academic community needs to support research, teaching, and learning ...

Funding: HathiTrust Receives 5-Year, $1 Million Grant From Mellon Foundation

Here’s the Full Text of HathiTrust Announcement: HathiTrust, a member-based organization hosted by the University of Michigan, has received a 5-year, $1 million grant from the Mellon Foundation to fund ...

Library as Publisher: "UMass Amherst Libraries Announce Publication of Open-Access Peregrine Falcon Curriculum

From UMass Amherst Libraries (Full Text): The University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries are pleased to announce the publication of The UMass Amherst Libraries Falcon Curriculum: An Open Source, Common Core PreK-12 ...

Report From Annenberg/UPenn: "Americans Don’t Understand What Companies Can Do With Their Personal Data — and That’s a...

From the Annenberg School of Communications/U. of Pennsylvania: In a new report, “Americans Can’t Consent to Companies’ Use of Their Data,” researchers asked a nationally representative group of more than ...

Fast Company: "Study: Over 50% of Academics Admit to Pirating Research Papers"

From Fast Company: More than 50% of academics have used piracy websites like Sci-Hub in order to bypass paywalls for research they want to access, according to a recent study published in ...

AI Models Spit Out Photos of Real People and Copyrighted Images; New Web Archives from Columbia University Libraries...

AI Models Spit Out Photos of Real People and Copyrighted Images (via MIT Technology Review) California: Orange Unified School District Reinstates Digital Library After Parent Concerns (via Voice of OC) ...

Journal Article: "Libraries Advancing Health Equity: A Literature Review"

The article linked below (full-text) was recently published Reference Services Review. Title Libraries Advancing Health Equity: A Literature Review Authors Amanda J. Wilson National Library of Medicine Catherine Staley National ...

Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board: "As Libraries Turn the Page on Bookmobiles, Something is Lost"

From the Chicago Sun-Times Editorial Board: Anyone who has spent time on a bookmobile has learned enough to know nothing withstands the change of time. Still, we lament the slow ...

LC's African and Middle Eastern Division Announces Release of the Africana Historic Postcard Collection

From The Library of Congress (via a 4 Corners of the World Blog Post by Anchi Hoh): The African and Middle Eastern Division is delighted to announce the rerelease of the ...

New From IFLA: "Marrakesh Monitoring Report - February 2023 Update"

From the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA): The chart [monitoring report]…is an updated version of previous monitoring reports. Where a country has been updated or added since ...

ROUNDUP: Research4Life Reaches 200,000 Resources; Majority of Research Papers Published by Cambridge University Press Now Open Access; &...

Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Seeks to Hire Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Developing a Globally Fair Pricing Model for Open Access Academic Publishing (via cOAlition S) Majority of ...

NY Times: "Turning Nairobi’s Public Libraries Into 'Palaces for the People'"

From The NY Times: In 1931, the first library in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, opened its doors — to white patrons only. Nearly a century later, Kenyans dressed in the slinky ...

ADVERTISEMENT

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER

Tweets by infoDOCKET

ADVERTISEMENT

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

Primary Sidebar

  • News
  • Reviews+
  • Technology
  • Programs+
  • Design
  • Leadership
  • People
  • COVID-19
  • Advocacy
  • Opinion
  • INFOdocket
  • Job Zone

Reviews+

  • Booklists
  • Prepub Alert
  • Book Pulse
  • Media
  • Readers' Advisory
  • Self-Published Books
  • Review Submissions
  • Review for LJ

Awards

  • Library of the Year
  • Librarian of the Year
  • Movers & Shakers 2022
  • Paralibrarian of the Year
  • Best Small Library
  • Marketer of the Year
  • All Awards Guidelines
  • Community Impact Prize

Resources

  • LJ Index/Star Libraries
  • Research
  • White Papers / Case Studies

Events & PD

  • Online Courses
  • In-Person Events
  • Virtual Events
  • Webcasts
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Media Inquiries
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • Submit Features/News
  • Data Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • Terms of Sale
  • FAQs
  • Careers at MSI


© 2023 Library Journal. All rights reserved.


© 2022 Library Journal. All rights reserved.