DCPL spokesperson Monica Lewis agreed that the branches have been closed too long, but said that initial plans for reconstruction were dropped because officials wanted to build the most technologically advanced structures. “Mayor [Anthony A.] Williams has designated $170 million for fiscal year 2007 through 2012 and created the Blue Ribbon Task Force, which has researched first-rate libraries around the country to use as models,” she said.
Robin Diener, a representative of the Renaissance Project, founded in 2002 by consumer advocate Ralph Nader, said in the September 14 Washington Post that the group wants a commitment to rebuild neighborhood libraries without waiting for a new central library and better incorporation of residents’ wishes in the process.
DCPL recently purchased three 40-foot-long bookmobiles; added to the one it already owned, they will provide dedicated service near the closed branches beginning September 18. Service plans also call for 4,000-square-foot interim libraries to open by the end of the calendar year in each of the communities served by the closed branches.
Posted September 15, 2006.