DC Public Library Releases Facilities Master Plan: Next Libris Will Inform Building Investment Through 2030

From the DC Public Library:

District residents may see more changes at libraries across the city, including the possibility of new locations in areas without Library service over the next decade. Today, the DC Public Library unveiled Next Libris, its new Facilities Master Plan that guides the next ten years of planning for library buildings across the city.

Highlights of the plan include:

• Addressing equity issues by replacing the library system’s smallest libraries — Deanwood, Parklands-Turner and Rosedale with full-service buildings offering meeting spaces, study rooms and other popular amenities.
• Relocating the Northwest One and Shepherd Park libraries to address nearby service gaps.
• Building a new library in the Adams Morgan area.

“The District of Columbia has generously invested in libraries over the past decade and a half.  Many neighborhood libraries are icons and enjoy great popularity among residents,” said Gregory McCarthy, president of the Library Board of Trustees. “To sustain this renaissance, we must continue strategic investments in our libraries. There are service gaps across the District that can be addressed through realignment of existing branches or by creating new branches altogether.”

Next Libris also outlines plans to better maintain and reconfigure existing library interiors to better serve residents as neighborhoods change, grow and evolve. Functional assessments of branches that are at least ten years old demonstrated a need to allocate more space for target populations, including young children at Shaw and teenagers at Tenley.

“Both the District of Columbia and the nature of information access are evolving. Libraries must strive to ensure buildings are responsive to current and future community needs,” said Richard Reyes-Gavilan, executive director of DC Public Library. “Next Libris ensures our buildings will remain community learning anchors for decades to come.”

Total costs for the plan that will inform the Library’s annual capital budget request to the city over the next decade are estimated to be $175-$195 million.

Direct to Full Text: Next Libris, New Facilities Master Plan

Media Coverage: D.C. Library System Wants To Build New Branches, Including a First in Adams Morgan (via Washington Post)

Filed under: Libraries, News, Public Libraries