The Examiner reports that renovations are underway at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, the central branch of the D.C. Public Public system. The improvements come after former Mayor Anthony Williams’ proposal to replace the building with a new flagship library two blocks away on the site of the old convention center was first tabled by the D.C. Council and then shelved by the Fenty administration.

Improvements to the outdated and long-neglected MLK Library in Mount Vernon Square address pressing needs, said Monica Lewis, library spokeswoman. The library system is expected to spend more than $2 million revamping the restrooms, replacing more than 1,000 ceiling lamps, modernizing three elevators, constructing a 1,800-square-foot, 38-seat technology training lab, and replacing all staff and customer computers.

Some of the projects are under way, some are planned and others are already finished.

Williams’ plan stirred up a heated debate between those who see the current facility, which was designed by famed modernist architect Mies van der Rohe, as a neglected eyesore that serves as more of homeless shelter than a library, and preservationists dedicated to saving the architecturally and historically significant building. The library is the only Mies building in the District, as well as one of the earliest monuments to the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

This news probably shouldn’t get those who want to save the library too excited, though. Spending $2 million on crucial repairs is really just a drop in the bucket of the estimated cost of rehabbing the neglected building — which some have suggested could cost upwards of $100 million. And as the Examiner story points out, Mayor Fenty has shelved, but not “trashed” the plans for a new main library.

Previously on DCist:
*Opinionist: Library Plan Serves Mayor, Not D.C.
*Williams Pushes Forward With Library Plans