The long-awaited overhaul of the Mount Pleasant Library is just about to begin. The building as it currently exists will lend its last book at 5:30 p.m. on March 27, and will then be closed for about 17 months. more ›

Renovations at the Georgetown Neighborhood Library branch are now underway, as We Love D.C. noted yesterday, so we checked in with folks at the D.C. Public Library to see how things are coming along. more ›

Authors Matthew Gilmore and Andrew Brodie Smith dug through a wealth of treasures at the Library of Congress and in the D.C. public libraries to produce Historic Photos of Washington, D.C.. Gilmore and Smith will be at Candida's World of Books tonight to sign their weighty book. Though certainly an attractive book for anyone with a coffee table, Historic Photos is also a gem for local history buffs, with nearly 200 photos that span... more ›

Of all the city government's agencies and departments, it's usually the big names that get the lions share of criticism from residents. The schools, the DMV, the public libraries, the Department of Public Works -- it's these that we're all quick to point to as proof of government incompetence. But with the fire that destroyed an entire building in Adams Morgan on Monday, it was the Water and Sewer Authority (WASA) that came under fire... more ›

Good morning, Washington. It's the last Friday in July, and we can already feel the impending doom and gloom of D.C.'s traditional No News August, a time when the Washington Post publishes lengthy ruminations on humidity and local TV news begins investigating whether your children's toy water guns are really safe. But as if feeling the need to grant us one last interesting Friday before the new month begins, D.C. Council member Harry Thomas... more ›

On December 30, 2004, D.C. Public Libraries closed four branches — the Anacostia, Benning, Tenley-Friendship and Watha T. Daniel/Shaw neighborhood branches — announcing replacement libraries in 18 months. That schedule was upended by DCPL management changes, leaving those communities without functioning libraries, and D.C. residents everywhere complaining about the sad state of a city that seemed to have the wrong priorities. But over the last few months, things have started to turn around. First, interim... more ›

They may be short on books, under-staffed, and generally depressing, but the District's public libraries are now all Wi-Fi hotspots. In late May the Georgetown branch announced it was the first public library in the city to offer free Wi-Fi, and now the remaining 20 branches and Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library will similarly do so. The District's Office of the Chief Technology Officer and the D.C. Public Library's Information and Telecommunications Office worked... more ›

Just as the leaves turning lets us know that autumn is upon us, the multitude of campaign signs littering city streets, yards, and lamposts reminds us that an election is soon to come. The Washington Times this weekend uncovered the simmering frustration some voters have with the signs, most of which are increasing in almost exponential fashion as election-time nears. We love politics, but even we have to admit that we're ready for the... more ›

The District's public library system may be bad enough that the person tapped to lead it will be paid more than the mayor, but at least it's moving into the 21st century. more ›

We're always one to celebrate when the District is good at something. But today's news is bittersweet. We're really good, it seems, at having really bad air, or so reports the Washington Times. According to an updated EPA report, air quality in the District is the fourth worst in the country, ranking behind New York, California and Oregon based on tests for 177 air toxins, including lead and benzene. We can try and take solace... more ›

We here at DCist are all about community development, and certainly the knowledge contained in our public libraries is a valuable resource that should be kept well maintained and freely available. Reading is FUNdamental, no? We just wish that for once, a government task force could report back to the mayor without bringing along a nine-digit number. The latest to issue a draft report thusly was the Mayor's task force on D.C.'s public libraries, which... more ›

You're the mayor. Through both sheer fear and skilled negotiations the City Council and U.S. Congress bow to your every demand. Your city coffers are suddenly flush with millions of dollars in surplus. What do you do? What do you do? In yesterday's Outlook section, the Post toyed with this quasi-realistic scenario and offered a variety of Washingtonians the chance to play God with the reported $300 million budget surplus the District is set to... more ›

A letter writer in today's Post responds to Marc Fisher's Aug. 5 column on the plight of the D.C. public libraries, where he supported a plan to sell the old Martin Luther King Library downtown and move the library into the old convention center. The writer notes the proposal would create a "much smaller" library located "under a hotel" and she says "Any proposal to revitalize the city's libraries must focus on investing in neighborhood branches and on developing a more community-oriented approach to services. " more ›