ANC2C02 Forum

6:30pm, Thursday, September 4
interim Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Neighborhood Library
945 Rhode Island Avenue, NW

Please plan to attend the final design meeting for the new Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Neighborhood Library to see the latest, and possibly final, designs. This will likely be the last opportunity to advocate for any changes community residents would like to see made to the new library's design.

Some have suggested that part of the landscaped area around the library should be used as an outdoor reading room, when weather permits. The removal of the green roof from the project has concerned many in the neighborhood. Others have suggested that the current space being dedicated to a seating area for the juvenile collection should be converted into a more flexible space that could accommodate literacy classes and senior programs in addition to the juvenile collection. And many continue to have concerns about the sight lines on the first floor that currently make it difficult for staff at the circulation desk to help monitor patron activity on that level.

While restoring glass as the principal material for the new building's facade was a major victory, some of the refinements listed above could help make the new library a more welcoming, safe, useful, and useable facility. Your presence at the meeting could help convince DC Public Library officials that these final tweaks are warranted and worthwhile.

So I hope you will make the effort to attend this meeting and offer your support at this crucial stage in the development of the new library that will serve our neighborhood for the next 30-50 years.

— Alexander M. Padro
Commissioner, ANC 2C01